While the dodo bird has been extinct for over 250 years, The Dodos, an American indie-art-folk band, certainly will not be going extinct any time soon.
On the heels of their recent full-length, Carrier, released in late August, The Dodos are playing a worldwide tour and graced the Starlight Social Club with their presence on Sunday, Sept. 22.
The Dodos acknowledged that perhaps a Sunday wasn’t the best time for a concert as they thanked everyone for not going home to watch Breaking Bad.
The crowd was on the smaller side but energetic and clearly thrilled to be here. Lead singer and guitarist Meric Long gave a shout out to the two gentlemen dancing intensely at the front for every song. The rest of the audience followed suit shortly after.
Starlight was the perfect place for The Dodos’ to perform in Waterloo—the space was intimate enough that the audience was able to interact with each other and the band in a free and open space but was large enough so that if the urge to dance struck you, you were able to do so with room to spare.
Long seemed vaguely uncomfortable on stage, but came into his own once he took an acoustic guitar on stage—the last few songs saw Long playing on an acoustic guitar as the other members played the instruments they had been playing from the start.
Long’s voice almost seemed better suited for a softer sound but the combination of the classic art folk sound and the softer vocals make for beautiful sound.
While the microphone wasn’t as loud as it could have been, which at times made it hard to hear Long sing over the rhythmic pounding of Logan Kroeber’s drums and Joe Haege’s melodic electric guitar, The Dodos’ raw talent is obvious and palpable.
Their patented mix between electronic and classic indie rock makes for very danceable music which carried over into their live set. Their sound was on key and their energy was intense.
They began their set with their recent single “Confidence” off of their album Carrier. Instead of introducing themselves, they nonchalantly walked on to the stage, quietly picked up their instruments and began the opening riffs.
For people who may be unfamiliar with The Dodos, this was a little confusing—they could have been mistaken for the Halifax-based act COUSINS, who opened for The Dodos.
The Dodos declined an interview with The Cord.