Odd Fellows Hall // Davis, CA // January 22
With the weather too cold to host shows on their outdoor patio, downtown Davis indie venue Sophia’s decided to bring the fun indoors, sponsoring a four-part winter concert series at the nearby Odd Fellows Hall. The first of these four dates featured local experimental rock quartet Elders supporting three of Portland’s finest acts: Brainstorm, AgesandAges and the headlining Typhoon.
With lengthy sound checks in between sets, and LED lights illuminating the stage only from the back, this Saturday night performance felt somewhat like a test-run. But Typhoon embraced the makeshift stage, noting that they sincerely preferred playing a darker room. For a band boasting 11 musicians on stage, the band’s allure doesn’t rely so much on visuals as it does on their instrumental quantity, as they had all the tools to build a wall of sound that grew taller and taller as the night progressed.
Led by singer and principal songwriter Kyle Morton, whose voice recalls the wistful tenor of Andrew Bird, Typhoon’s songs are hushed and delicate at their core. The aural spectacle comes to life, however, in their brassy, colossal arrangements. Accompanied by guitar, bass, two trumpets, two drummers, keys, glockenspiel, violin and cello, it’s clear that the rest of the band likes to push their frontman to the limit. Their sheer volume fed Morton’s live energy as he belted the lyrics out with more force and gusto than what’s typically heard on their studio recordings.
Typhoon’s next-level intensity may have set a high standard for the three remaining shows, but the college students of Davis simply appreciate the fact that, although the leaves are dead in this town, top-quality music lives on.
-Daryl Lazaro