Mew and The Dodos at Lee’s Palace

Lee’s Palace opened its doors to the fantastic world of Mew this Wednesday. Dressed in matching band t-shirts or carrying the newly purchased merch in their pockets, Mew fans came early and stayed late.

Opening for Mew were the San Francisco indie rock band, The Dodos. Meric Long and Logan Kroeber have been making music since 2006, taking the first few years to experiment with their sound. Nearly a decade in the works, the duo have refined their style and found a way to sound bigger than a two-man band. Long used a variety of guitars throughout the set, laying sounds live on stage, sharing the vocals between two mics while Kroeber skillfully drummed and occasionally sang along. The Dodos were new to a part of the crowd who slowly figured out the band throughout the set and began to move along.

Mew are a Danish pop-rock band consisting of Jonas Bjerre (lead vocals), Johan Wohlert (bass) and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen (drums). The dimly lit stage created a rather intimate environment with the main light set over Jørgensen – all eyes on the drums. For the live show, the band was joined by an additional guitar player who kept on jamming with Wohlert, creating a mini side party on the stage while Bjerre was standing ground, facing the crowd.

Bjerre has a rather unique high-pitch voice and Mew’s overall sound tends to transport you back to the early 90s to the bands like A-ha (who Mew compare themselves to) and Depeche Mode, which is no surprise considering the band formed in 1994. It is also no surprise that Mew’s fan-base consists of all ages from your cousin’s mom and dad to your hipster neighbour.

Mew wrapped up the set an hour or so later to an extremely thrilled crowd. Both bands are now back on the road to wrap up their North American tour. Next stop, Washington DC.