Toro Y Moi, Wild Belle, Dog Bite
Saturday, February 9 at The National
Recently, I’ve been writing about and frequenting dance parties around Richmond, but I can only dance so much before my soles crumble off and my soul crumbles away. So last Saturday, I opted to go watch some live music at the National, just to keep it chill. I didn’t know that the Toro Y Moi show would turn into A BIG ASS DANCE PARTY. What am I, cursed by fun? What is this, a humblebrag? The fact is the live-est dance party in RVA that weekend was Saturday night at the National with Toro Y Moi and his tortoise-shell rimmed glasses.
Dog Bite, who Toro Y Moi has referred to as his favorite band, opened the show with a coasty, shoegazey set that felt like the calmer side of 90’s grunge with added ingredients of surf pop and psychedelia. Truth be told, I was still in diapers when grunge was big, but I still felt compelled to tie my shirt around my waist. As an introduction to this solo project from Phil Jones (who’s worked/toured with Washed Out), I found the songs easily accessible and the performance to be enticing. It was mysteriously familiar, like walking into a house that you no longer reside in, and it was understandable that Toro Y Moi would bring him along on tour. I dug his set and thought it was a solid, tame opening for what was to come. Dog Bite just recently put out a full length album entitled Velvet Changes.
As Dog Bite left the stage after their set, I was left to ponder about the next act. Clearly, I didn’t do any research prior to the show--I only came to see Toro Y Moi. But the moment I saw a roadie carry out a baritone saxophone, I was pretty much sold. The band that came on stage looked like they could’ve easily been a heavy blues band, a folk outfit, or even a country artist; the female lead singer sparked my curiosity. These guys looked too well dressed to be playing “chillwave,” and I wasn’t wrong about that. The moment they began playing, everything seemed to fall into place. What initially came across as typical reggae, soon blossomed into a unique blend of soul, folk, electronic, and pop.
The band, Wild Belle, was started by musician siblings Elliot and Natalie Bergman, who have had separate music careers in the past. Together as Wild Belle, they described their sound as island soul party, and that’s what the National turned into. Going along with Toro Y Moi’s whole warm-weather/summery vibe, I could see how Wild Belle fits into the pack. “Keep You” and “It’s Too Late” were among the more popular songs performed, but one track that stood out was “When It’s Over,” the sole song that multi-instrumentalist, Elliot Bergman took over with lead vocals. He stated right before the song started that “it’s Saturday night, so I’m going to do one for you guys.” This song hasn’t officially been released, but trust that it’s extremely catchy. Overall the set was highly enjoyable, and a stark contrast from Dog Bite in terms of mood. With Natalie Bergman’s unique, Amy Winehouse-esque vocals, little flings of electronic sounds, and kick-ass baritone sax riffs from Elliot Bergman, Wild Belle really punched up the audience energy to a much needed level in time for the Toro Y Moi set. Wild Belle’s debut album, Isles, drops in March.
The crowd eagerly awaited Chaz Bundick’s appearance. I perused the audience to see what type of fans Toro Y Moi had drawn. What I found was an expected amount of “cool kids,” fashionistas, and some people who looked like they were part of Odd Future, but most of the audience was so diverse that it just seemed like everybody was there. There was electricity in the air was we waited and even a few “Toro, Toro” chants broke out. When Bundrick walked out at roughly 10:15 PM, the audience erupted with cheers and applause. It occurred to me that he had a bigger fan base than I thought. Toro made his way to his master control station, which consisted of two keyboards, a sample pad, and a strategically positioned microphone; absent was any sign of a Macbook laptop.
Toro Y Moi greeted the audience with a comical “Hey guys!” and without hesitation, launched into “Rose Quartz” from his latest album, Anything in Return. With that opening, the dance party started, and never stopped. The lack of movement from the performers was made up by a spectacular light show and a slick stage setup that included what appeared to be paper shutters that lit up in different colors. The music itself is what really carried the show. Normally for live shows, bands tend to play their more upbeat songs, but that wasn't even what did it. Even the slower songs like “Higher Living” and “Cola” had me swaying and bobbing. Toro’s production is smooth, punchy, and chock full of layers. It’s quite an eargasm to hear live. After every song, my friends looked around at each other and exclaimed, “That was so good!” It felt like a house music dance party, except with a live band and not an obscure DJ. “Say That,” “New Beat,” and “Low Shoulder” were among the most memorable, and my favorite, tracks performed. His vocals sounded exactly as they do on the records, whether that’s a good thing or not.
Simply put, the show was just fun. It certainly gave me new perspective on Toro Y Moi’s music, which is very much for everybody, and not just hipsters. You can’t even call it chillwave anymore--it felt almost Motown-esque. His songs are light-hearted, catchy, and obviously danceable. He has definitely broken free of the "chillwave" label and become an original artist. Folks were so amped up from his set that the party continued outside with the bucket drummers set up on the sidewalk in front of the National. Maybe it was just a good crowd that night? All I know is that I only want to listen to Toro Y Moi at max volume from now on. All in favor for a Toro Y Moi dance party say "aye!"