Concert Review: Wild Light and The Doves @ The Trocadero
The Trocadero slowly crowded in on Friday night as a crowd a bit older than our last visit to this venue was a pleasing change. As those who have been to thr Troc before may know, depending on the night, it can turn into a sweat-fest due to poor ventilation. This time around we were treated to two groups that we were looking forward to seeing. The first group we would see perform was Wild Light, from New Hampshire, and the second, the well-tentured trio (now foursome), Doves.
Warming up the crowd with cuss words in songs such as “California On My Mind” and some glittery guitar-work made our first ever experience watching and listening to Wild Light a pleasing one. There were many refreshing qualities about the band, who although they didn’t have the instant headliner appeal, worked very well around the stage, which had been cluttered by various instruments waiting for the Doves to step in and play. We later discovered that Wild Light has been on quite a tear in the last year promoting work for their debut album Adult Nights (which were aptly distributed via matchbooks after the show) with bands such as The Stills, Tapes n’ Tapes and more recently The Killers.
Switching between Tim Kyle and Seth Pitman on vocals, their act opened up with a three-guitar and drums setup, which later switched to keyboard and two guitars. Their song “Heart Attack” and “Lawless River” were quite poppy and easily catching from the get-go. The crowd seemed pleased to see a switch to some acoustic guitar, which intertwined into another one of their more likable songs “New Years Eve”. Given my first listen to Wild Light, which we all know is the most testing time, I would say they passed with flying colors having much to offer to an indie rock listener looking to get in on the bottom floor with a new find.
MP3: Wild Light – California On My Mind (buy)
MP3: Wild Light – Lawless River (Bodega Girls Remix) (buy)
MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/wildlight
The night had been revolving around our thoughts on how the Doves performance would turn out. With a little research before heading to the show, we found that from a few unbiased opinions, the band would not disappoint.
When Jimi Goodwin and company entered the stage, there was no surprise when the opening to “Jetstream” was heard. While skeptical at the beginning, we did not agree that Goodwin’s vocals were all that stellar throughout the first song. Having been the entry point for their latest album, Kingdom of Rust, I recall listening to the song every time curious how it would sound live. The breakdown in the beginning of the song is a massive build for almost three minutes, keyboards and drums in sync. It could be truthfully said that the album version’s drums are a bit more pounding on the breakdowns, but just as an opener is simply meant to wet the palate, “Jetstream” was soundly accomplished.
Not until the third song into the show did Goodwin’s vocals warm up and the way he belted his voice throughout the venue was simply astounding. Every nuance while he was singing was similar, if not better, than any of his work done in a recording studio; seeing the Doves live was turning out to be quite an unexpected treat.
With songs such as “Pounding” and “Black and White Town“, the crowd was soon singing along, swept off their feet with each song that was played. Their title-track “Kingdom of Rust” was another favorite from the new album and the addition of keyboardist Martin Rebelski made his impact known. Rebelski certainly fit right in as well, practically hidden behind the mounds of keyboards and sound equipment in the far back right corner of the stage. According to a recent interview, the keyboard extrodinaire seems to be having quite a ride.
To add to the great show was a pleasing visual effect as well, which in turn, made taking pictures of the dimly lit stage quite difficult. The videos of skyscrapers, rotating gears and other non animated objects added yet another pleasing dimension to their performance.
Overall, out of many of the shows I’ve seen, Doves are up there with some of my favorites. Two things I’m particularly keen on finding in a band I like to see live is 1) Great vocals, which were abundant here and 2) Impeccable song writing and being able to translate directly from album to stage. Make sure this is one show you do not miss!
One other song that demonstrated the live likability of the Doves was the fan favorite (and my personal favorite), “Snowden“.
MP3: Doves – Pounding (buy)
MP3: Doves – Kingdom of Rust (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) (buy)
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/dovesmyspace
Official – http://www.home.doves.net/
Setlist:
Jetstream
Snowden
Winter Hill
Rise
Pounding
Almost Forgot Myself
10:03
The Greatest Denier
Kingdom Of Rust
Ambition
The Outsiders
Caught By The River
—
Break Me Gently
Firesuite
The Last Broadcast
There Goes the Fear
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I was at this show as well as NYC the night before – the Philly show was infinitely better in terms of sound quality, though the set list was nearly identical.
They did not do “One of These Days” as listed in the last sentence of your review (though I wish they had!) You can see the full setlist here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/doves/2009/trocadero-theatre-philadelphia-33d610d9.html
Thanks for the setlist info! It was an excellent show and one I will surely remember.