Originally seen on December 27th, 2008
Last year, a few days after Christmas, my little sister and I went to a concert in Minneapolis that sounded kinda fun. The concert was entitled Dosh & Friends, with Dosh headlining, Dark Dark Dark opening for him, and DJ Odd Nosdam spinning some tunes in between sets. I had never heard of any of these people before, but the event was gaining some acclaim on MNVibe, so I figured it would be a good idea to check out.
Well, It wasn't quite what I expected. It was held in a large community center type room with a shit load of wooden folding chairs filling the entire space. "Ok.. I guess it's a 'sit down' concert.." I thought. Jess and I grabbed some seats up front since it was pretty empty. As the room began to fill with more and more of Minneapolis' hippy youth, it was starting to dawn on me that the music we were going to hear tonight probably wasn't the type of electronic music that I frequent.
There were some pretty weird people hanging around and talking with each. My little sister and I kept ourselves busy by pointing out some other these people to each other. After 20 minutes rolled on by (we got there kinda early), the room will pretty full. The lights dimmed. And some of those people we noticed earlier took the stage. It was Dark Dark Dark.. And the crowd went overly politely silent.
They began singing some songs with the audience at complete attention. After each tune, the audience cheered and applauded for about 15 to 20 seconds, and then DEAD silence. I mean, absolute silence in the entire hall of 300 or 400 people. Not a single word was spoken for another 10 seconds, and they began their next song. After they finished their song, there was applause and cheer and SILENCE. It was the weirdest, most awkward concert experience I've ever had.
But Dark Dark Dark plays some interesting music. The accordion brings an incredible old Italian romantic feel to their songs. The banjo keeps the songs from getting too serious, and adds a laid-back layer to the sound. And they have some cellos to provide bass lines.
Even though it's very different from the "normal" music I listen to, their songs were very passionate and conveyed a very unique sound. It's romantic and lonely and desperate and very human. It feels like so much of their lives are each of their songs. After listening to their music, it's like I just had a long conversation with them about their lives and how they live.
After performing several songs, the atmosphere of The Cedar became a little less awkward. Head band members Nona Marie Invie and Marshall LaCount began chatting a little bit between songs and provided some background context. At first glance, I thought they were brother and sister, but my mind was blown when they first mentioned children. I guess when people find their soul mate and embrace it, they begin slowly transforming into one person.
Their set lasted an hour and a half, I'd say.. After some setup Dosh, started his set, which was pretty interesting.
which happened today, October 6th 2009
A month ago, I noticed Dark Dark Dark were going to be in Madison. Even though, the skies were dark, and winds were fierce, I braved the storms and went downtown to see 'em. Upon entering UW-Memorial, the Rathskellar was full of Madison's hippy youth. I immediately knew I was in the right spot.
Once again, their performance started off awkward. Not as awkward as absolute silence, but awkward for the opposite reason. Too many fucking people talking. There are 2 very big reasons for this. #1) This concert was free. #2) The Rathskellar sells Beer. The inhabitants of Wisconsin are a bunch of loud obnoxious drunks, so when we get any amount of Beer in our systems, our self-consciousness and attention span goes right out the window.
Unfortunately, much of the on-stage conversation Dark Dark Dark was trying to have was different to hear because of the noise. Nona asked the audience how many people were from Minneapolis and not a single person raised their hand. She asked another question, which I couldn't quite make out, that also went unanswered.
Their music was still just as romantic and infectious as the first time I heard it. They were only on stage for an hour, but throughout that hour the atmosphere had changed. By the end, everyone was on their feet at the stage.
Back in December, after hearing Dark Dark Dark, I felt compelled to purchase their album, and I did. But, I hadn't ever been in the mood to actually listen to it. After recanting all these feelings I've had listening to their music live, I haven't really listened to them on my own. But, I still have the CD and plan on giving it a listen.
The Snow Magic is their only album out right now. Though, at their show tonight, they had a Vinyl single that contains two remixes. DJ Odd Nosdam remixes "Junk Bones", and Dosh remixes "All the Things". It seems like all those guys are pretty tight. ^_^
