Reading Rainbow by Maxwell Monty

Tuesday night’s Reading Rainbow & The Dodos show at the Doug Fir Lounge jumped out the the gate, with opener Reading Rainbow taking the stage at exactly their assigned time of 9:15. The Boy-Girl garage-pop duo got to it straight off, Drummer Sarah Everton pounding away while hitting peppy and exacting vocal harmonies with guitarist Rob Garcia. Opting for a simple green backdrop as opposed to any kind of eye-catching light display, the band kept the focus on themselves and their tangible on-stage chemistry, remaining fairly well lit for their entire set. The two often faced each other, as Everton played in the standing position on a sort of make-shift kit of her own design. Her enthusiastic percussion style ensured that the focus stayed on her for much of the show, sharing the spotlight whenever Garcia chipped into create the band’s signature harmonies. The pair exclusively sang at the same time on Tuesday night, forming a distinct sound by virtue of never picking just one lead singer.

Though the band’s sound could often be likened to the sort of bouncy-fun indie pop of someone like Matt and Kim, Reading Rainbow managed to occasionally stray from their normative sound, visiting surf rock and slow-burning rock jams in turn. The audience, while paying attention dutifully, was a bit stoic and still, but that all changed when the group launched into clear crowd favorite, “Wasting Time.” Even the band seemed to save some special relish for the tune, nearly everyone in the room chanting the Reading Rainbow’s chorus shouts of, “I don’t mind,” right back to them. The opening set zoomed by in a flash, and the band had retired for the night before the clock hit 10.

The Dodos by Maxwell Monty

The Dodos arrived on stage just under a half hour after Reading Rainbow had left, the floor filling up all the while. With Drummer Logan Kroeber placed front and center, the trio (The Dodos have an extra guitarist for live dates) launched into,”Good,” a surprise opening number. Likely knowing what the audience had expected, they followed with, “Black Night,” the first single off of their newest album, “No Color.” The tune was pounding and intense, Kroeber absolutely wailing away on the drums from first moment to last, bandmate Meric Long doubled-over, furiously strumming away at his guitar. The band continued on in this fashion, boisterously grinding through their set without ever so much as picking up the acoustic guitar that they had once made their name on. Upon occasion, this made some of Long’s more complicated guitar pickings indecipherable, but it upped the group’s rock and roll vibe twice over.

The Dodos by Maxwell Monty

After just Ten songs, Long announced to the audience that their next would be their last, proceeding to build into the band’s go-to final number, “The Season.” Already one of the group’s longest songs, the live rendition was stretched out to Ten minutes in length, guitar and drum solos filling in the gaps. The band took next to no time to return for their encore, the gap between them leaving and coming back no more than a couple of minutes. The Dodos kicked off their extra set with, “Going Under,” the Eighth song the group had played from, “No Color,” accounting for 75% of their set and all but one song off of the album (“Hunting Season”). Though the crowd had been active and appreciative all night, no single moment matched the joy that came over the room when The Dodos finally played, “Fools.” Just like the rest of their set, the song was rendered in a new, rockier sheen, but its smiling chorus had no trouble eliciting sing-a-longs and tapping feet. Just like that, the night was over, both band’s making the most of their brief time on stage, and leaving the audience hungry for more.

The Dodos by Maxwell Monty

Both Reading Rainbow and The Dodos can next be seen at The Fillmore on Thursday in San Francisco, and then again on Friday at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. Music by both bands is available via itunes or wherever music is sold.