The first time I saw Tory Y Moi at One Eyed Jacks, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. The bands were good enough, but unfortunately a few people in the crowd insisted on spilling beer and picking fights with everyone around them, making it very difficult to enjoy the show. Despite this, last night I got redemption and it was as remarkable as I could have hoped.
I don’t have much to say about the openers, though neither of them were terrible by any means. Fellow Carpark Records signees Dog Bite started the evening off with a pretty enjoyable set of psychedelic guitar pop tunes that sounded reminiscent of their contemporaries such as Wild Nothing and Real Estate. After that was Wild Belle, a sort of spacey-reggae-adult contemporary hybrid from Chicago whose set didn’t do much for me unfortunately. However, a few baritone sax (or tenor; I always mix them up) solos and a pretty consistent groove at least kept my head bobbing throughout the duration of their time on stage. Then just after midnight the curtains opened and the real show began.
Toro Y Moi’s set consisted of mostly of funky and dancey tracks from their past three albums and even a few off his EP. I was satisfied with most of the song choices, though there were a few from his newest album Anything In Return that I wish they had played. The only real misstep in the setlist was Grown Up Calls. The song itself is decent, but it seemed to be jammed in a weird place in the order that sort of killed the energy the band had been building. Overall, the band seemed tighter and more confident than last time I saw them. They also had a pretty awesome light show, a welcomed addition to the psychedelic atmosphere the band was creating with their songs. Everyone in the crowd loved it too; they danced, sang, cheered, and even brought the band back out for a two song encore. I realized later that the show had in fact sold out, and you could definitely tell everyone (including me) was super amped up to be there with them.
Do yourself a favor and go see Toro Y Moi when you have the chance. That is, unless you don’t like dancing. Or synthesizers. Or sweet grooves.
