Despite the dearth of good things on UNC’s campus, Memorial Hall put on a spectacular show Friday, June 25. The Dutchess and the Duke and Dodos opened for the super group New Pornographers in a jaw-dropping concert.
The Dutchess and the Duke were joined by another member due to an accident with a food processor leaving the lead guitarist wounded. They played a set of strong folk rock with heavy vocals and light percussion.
I had been told that Dodos do not put on a good live show, but after their performance Friday, I beg to differ. These three guys—Meric Long, Logan Kroeber, and Keaton Snyder—played a percussion-filled set of their high-energy songs mainly off albums Visitor and Time to Die. They were obviously quite tired from traveling on tour for the past two weeks, for their between-song banter was admittedly lackluster, but, luckily, this did not carry over to their music. Fellow DJ Sarah-nade enjoyed the vibraphone, which we found added a deeper sound to the music.
I don’t need to tell you how amazing the New Pornographers are. You’re probably singing your favorite New Pornographers’ song in your head right now (mine is Myriad Harbour). The acoustics in Memorial Hall worked perfectly with the sound emanating from A.C. Newman’s guitar, Neko Case and Kathryn Calder’s beautiful voices, and all musicians making up this Canadian super group. As we listened, I pictured colorful threads of sound coming together to form one beautiful tapestry. They played a great set, starting off with “Sing Me Spanish Techno” and kept the energy high with “Myriad Harbor” and songs off their new album, Together, like “Your Hands” and “Crash Years.” They played songs off almost all of their five albums.