Live Reviews
Dosh + Anathallo at the El Mo
- by Dan
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Add to del.ico.us.(2008-05-22)
I don’t know who you were, but somebody decided to post a link to a forum on a message board I read, with the set times for tonight’s Emerge-sponsored show at the El Mo. Without that message I might very well have missed the entire Anathallo set. That would have been bordering on criminal, so I thank you very much.I’ve been out at the Rancho Thursday through Sunday this week, and I must admit when it came time to go check out the show tonight I was exhausted. My fiance tried to coax me into not going, and I was so bloody tired I briefly considered it. But how was I going to miss this show? Anathallo’s Floating World and Dosh’s The Lost Take are two of my favourite promos I’ve ever received. The reason I run twowaymonologues.com is to find out about music and bands like this. So I sucked it up and ended up grabbing a cab in a panic once I realized how late I was going to be.
I caught four Anathallo songs – apparently there were only six, so that’s not bad. Floating World is, simply put, one of the most intricate, beautifully pieced together indie records I’ve ever come across. It has more chops live, which has a lot to do with multiple players taking turns on various forms of percussion, but everyone in the band seems to be exhausting a ton of energy to re-create these songs.
My eyes didn’t know what to look at. Every musician -- I believe there were 7 -- had their own captivating element about them, and for once my pet peeve of big bands having musicians who really serve no purpose was proven wrong.
Floating World has been out a few years now, and the band is still out supporting it while waiting on the right opportunity to release new music on the world. I think that’s a wise strategy because even though Dosh is a more well-known commodity, there was only 60 to 70 percent of the crowd there for Dosh as there was for Anathallo, despite an early start time.
Then it was Dosh in support of his brand new record Wolves and Wishes. If you aren’t familiar with it, what is most compelling about Martin Dosh is that the music on record ---- which is really awesome -- is duplicated live via two people and a complicated setup of loop pedals. He delicately lays out the pieces with his partner in crime, and bit by bit the songs you know and love are crafted before your eyes. It’s art, really -- soothing, rhythmic art. Sure, the vocals aren’t present, but I promise you won’t miss them.
Those who stayed were witness to one of the most brilliant musical minds going right now, and by the end of the night we were all swaying, dancing, bobbing our heads or doing whatever came naturally to us as one of my all-time favourite songs “Um, Circles and Squares” came on and the room realized just what they were witnessing. This followed by a big rush to the merch table, myself included.
Whoever thought of this pairing is a bloody genius. Anathallo + Dosh -- if you live in one of the cities remaining on the tour, get yourself a ticket.
Cheers,
Dan