The Duchess And The Duke, the Seattle duo of Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz, had the task of rallying the crowd at The Trocadero on a sweltering summer night in Philly. They were promoting sophomore album Sunset/Sunrise (Hardly Art), which was recorded by fellow musician and producer, Greg Ashley. Sunset/Sunrise, though still reminiscent of classic ’60s riffs laced with minor chords, brings a new sunniness to the Duchess And The Duke’s style, making the album title seem all the more appropriate.
Next to take the stage were the Dodos. Last year, Keaton Snyder (vibraphone) joined Meric Long (guitar, vocals) and Logan Kroeber (drums, vocals), giving the San Francisco band’s latest album, Time To Die (Frenchkiss), a whimsical, tinny sound above the guitar-driven songs. This mix makes for an interesting live show. Snyder used his mallets like a cellist would use a bow, creating an underlying, soft hum that bled through each song. Kroeber was impressive, with a percussion style that sounds like two frenzied drummers playing in unison, and Long did not disappoint, belting out crowd favorites “Red And Purple,” “Fools” and “Fables.”
The New Pornographers are one of those bands lucky enough to have a following that adore them. Really adore them. The crowd bursted into celebration as, under haphazardly hung lettering in bright white lights spelling their namesake, the eight-piece band began with the catchy “Sing Me Spanish Techno” from 2005’s Twin Cinema. Perhaps it’s the size of the band, the fact that each member seems to be able to bounce from instrument to instrument or the beautiful four-part harmonies that evoke the feeling of a well-oiled circus or a finely tuned family band.
The Vancouver natives have been making music together for more than a decade, and with that comes an audience as eclectic as its orchestral sound, which at times blends cheery, pop chord progressions, a somber cello and even a funky toy instrument. Baby boomers to freshly of-agers erupted into shrieks of excitement at the start of each song. The first notes of every tune had fans turning to each other, mouthing song titles with wide grins.
This tour is promoting the recent Together (Matador.) With A.C. Newman (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, banjo), Kathryn Calder (vocals, keyboards, piano), Neko Case (vocals), John Collins (bass, guitar, keyboards), Kurt Dahle (drums, vocals), Todd Fancey (guitar), Blaine Thurier (keyboards) and Dan Bejar (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion), you can’t get a much fuller, in-sync and precise sound. On the new “Up In The Dark,” Newman projected a modern-pop feel into a good ol’ American rock song. Also from Together came the whistle-driven “Crash Song,” which is another singalong giving that family-band image with an impressive multi-part whistling chorus.
The Pornos played some tunes from their debut album, 2000’s Mass Romantic, including “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism,” which wasn’t originally on the set list. Newman heard a rowdy fan in the crowd begging to hear it, finally giving in, “OK, for the drunk guy!” When Calder whipped out the accordion for “Go Places,” it became evident that each individual song has its own loyal following. Though sometimes criticized for trying to be too “power pop” with Together, the la-la-la-driven “Go Places” had fans re-energized through the dampening heat. Plus, Calder just looks so damn cute with that accordion.
Though most of the band’s sound transfers wonderfully and accurately from recordings to a live set, a few odd aspects—like Case’s lone claps on “Sweet Talk”—distracted from the material more than adding to it. This may have had something to do with the Troc’s sound, which seemed a bit wonky and unbalanced at times. The soundman couldn’t seem to get Bejar’s levels right until the encore with “Testament To Youth In Verse.”
After what had to have qualified as one of the loudest, foot-stomping, synchronized clapping requests for an encore ever at this venue, the band took the stage again with Newman joking, “You thought you’d lost us, but we’re back! Like our song. Get it?” The Pornos finished with the ever-recognizable “The Bleeding Heart Show.” This has to have been where the term “power pop” became forever linked with Newman and Co. It’s a song that you can’t help smile about and fight the urge to hold hands and skip in a circle. Luckily, it was way too hot in the Troc for such shenanigans, but it was tempting.
—Cristina Perachio
