The Dodos with The Ruby Suns

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Kings Arms, Auckland

A lengthy power outage in the Kings Arms area yesterday may have paid dividends for The Ruby Suns whose late arrival to the stage gave time for a very impressive crowd to gather. The saving grace was a back up generator, used to power the facility, but disrupted sound check and The Ruby Suns’ preparation.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise however because The Ruby Suns blew my mind, and on the third night of three successive gigs they were by far the most outstanding band. Ryan McPhun and Amee Robinson are all that’s left in The Ruby Suns after several years, but the two of them melt perfectly together on stage and bounce off each other effortlessly. Using an array of backing tracks McPhun and Robinson added every major detail, hitting electronic pads, pounding drums, playing bass guitar and winding electronics. McPhun’s drumming was a display of absolute class, rebounding between African rhythms and contemporary pop, his energy was uplifting and undeniably enjoyable. The Ruby Suns live are a different band to the one on record and perhaps Real Groove magazine’s naive dismissal of the band channeling Panda Bear was proved well unjustified. Throughout their set they were joined on stage by members of The Dodos to add a touch of flavour, making the songs even more complex then they already are. Both bands seemed to be well acquainted and The Dodos showed an obvious admiration for both McPhun and Robinson.

After another short tune up, Dodos lead singer/guitarist Meric Long opened the set with a beautiful trumpet solo. He then took up a comfortable seat, picked up his guitar and with drummer Logan Kroeber launched headfirst into a very loud song. From the start Long’s ability on guitar was something to behold, finger picking at an impressively quick pace and sliding into chords without blinking an eyelid. Kroeber’s background as a drummer in a metal band didn’t really show, but his unusual set-up with three floor toms had a great effect, played with a strange timing that put a plausible thunderous rhythm beneath Long’s guitar. Their music wasn’t quite what I expected, much like The Ruby Suns, The Dodos live are a different entity; a stronger, more abrasive band who play their songs at almost double speed. Mid-way through the set the band was joined on stage by somewhat honorary member Joe Haener on vibraphone, toy piano and a big metal rubbish bin. His touches didn’t seem to add a lot to the band’s sound and at times it looked like he was hitting the vibraphone keys a bit hard. It was however somewhat of a gimmick to see someone bashing on a rubbish bin. They ended with one encore song, their radio hit ‘Red and Purple’ which was played at a super fast pace and unfortunately let down their otherwise fantastically enjoyable (albeit very loud) performance.

More Dodos and Ruby Suns live photos

Posted by Nick Fulton under New Zealand, U.S.A
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