Midway through The Dodos KEXP session, a chant emerged from the packed audience at the Doug Fir Lounge, eliciting embarrassed grins from the Bay Area trio: "You're our favorite threesome!"
Formed in 2005 by multi-instrumentalist Meric Long and percussionist Logan Kroeber, The Dodos have recruited Portland's own Joe Haege (of Tu Fawning, 31Knots, and Menomena) for this tour, and he fits in flawlessly. The band has just released their fifth album Carrier, expanding on their melodic indiepop sound.
As a power trio, The Dodos filled the room with frenetic, driving sound -- using a bed of looped guitar, Long blasted sonic guitar solos, peering from behind a curtain of black bangs. Displaying the same "Confidence" of which they sing of in their latest single, it was clear to see why The Dodos were a favorite threesome at MusicFest NW.
Directed by bandleader Danny Mekonnen, the Boston-based Debo Band take inspirations from 1960s Ethiopian jazz music, elements of klezmer, funk and rock and roll. They combine these into original instrumentation and create a rhythmic, thoughtful, often trans-like musical narrative. Adding to Mekonne…
The Thermals may have moved to Saddle Creek Records for their latest album, but frontman Hutch Harris showed some Seattle pride at the Doug Fir, sporting a Hardly Art shirt, which, along with the rest of Harris, was inevitably soaked by the end of their live set.
Some artists come out of their bedroom studios only to return to the comfort of their four-tracks, and some emerge from the loft and never go back. Stuart McLamb, the creative force behind North Carolina's The Love Language, clearly falls into the latter category. Even when he was technologically l…
