Show Review: Doldrums and Blue Hawaii
Last Friday I caught Doldrums at the Bootleg Bar, supported by Blue Hawaii and Sean Nicholas Savage. Savage opened the show with a charming, lo-fi performance of some of his recorded work. He was up there by himself, with only his tiny keyboard and built-in drum machine providing the instrumentation. His minimal set-up was no hindrance, though: Savage belted some seriously soulful songs over his own soft electric accompaniment, the whole time with an infectious little grin on his face.
Sean Nicholas Savage, crooning into his mic in one hand, playing keys with the other
Then, Blue Hawaii came on, bringing the electro-dance vibe with them. The Canadian duo struck a balance between Agor's heavy electronic sounds and Raph's almost pop-like vocals. They were quite dynamic on stage, moving with pulsating beats they were laying down, and I felt they were so groovy I just had to move too.
Blue Hawaii (at another show, the stage was too dark for more pictures)
At the end of the night, Doldrums started their set with ferocious energy. Their sound was very distinctive and very awesome, mixing frontman Eric's vocals and electronics, with another band member's electronics and keyboard, and a third band member's acoustic drum set. The kick drum seemed to be in sync with the electronic sub-bass, which was so loud that the band's monitors on stage were sliding back. They put on a great show, closing the set with the song "She is the Wave," off their newest album, "Lesser Evil." Definitely try to see them if you can!
