Author Archives: Abby Matousek

The Dodos do not feel like a two-man act. For a band that relies so heavily on so little—a drum kit, guitar, and vocals—they fill the stage with their energy and the venue with their indie, at times somewhat folky, sound.

In addition to displaying incredible talent on the two instruments that make up their band, Meric Long and Logan Kroeber seemed to have great fun with the audience—bantering about the cupcakes that were waiting for them backstage, gently mocking an audience member for unhelpful song requests, and dedicating “Black Night” from the album No Color to all the people in the audience who go running in the negative degree weather (thanks by the way guys, it’s chilly out there). Waiting for Long to tune after a guitar change, drummer Kroeber thanked the crowd for the “warm” welcome, noting that this was the band’s first snow day of the tour.

And the welcome was indeed warm. The audience head bopped along and joined in shouting “HA!” and “HEY!” in all the appropriate places, especially getting in to “Competition” off the band’s most recent album Individ and “Confidence” from Carrier.

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As the opening act prepared to take the stage, the announcer reminded the audience that, though the venue is a restaurant and bar, we were about to see some “tender” and “intimate” moments. As would any good cynic, I scoffed. Who really uses the word tender?

An hour later I was crying. As the band exited the stage, a single bright spot fell on Leon Russell, and he sang “Song for You” with, yes, incredible tenderness. The audience, which was largely composed of people who have clearly been fans since the ‘60s and ‘70s, was rapt as Mr. Russell removed his sunglasses for the first and only time that evening and poured himself into his most famous song.

The evening was full of gorgeous moments, including hearing Mr. Russell’s cover of “Wild Horses” by the Rolling Stones and the gospel hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” Sitting in front of his white, custom-made, baby grand piano, while wearing all white, with his white beard, and under the white spot, a man behind me whispered that Mr. Russell was a “cowboy angel.” As incongruous as the comparison is, with his gruff stage presence and rock-and-roll hair and beard, it is impossible to argue with the statement—his performance was at times ethereal.

This is not to say the evening was ballad heavy or slow. Perhaps the best moment of the evening occurred during Mr. Russell’s performance of “The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen.” Reaching the lyric “Just myself and forty friends/In the name of Cocker power,” the audience screamed along with him “COCKER POWER” in a tribute to Joe Cocker who passed away in December.

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