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Printable version
Dungen w/Mia Doi Todd
@ the Middle East Downstairs, Oct 13th, 8pm
By David Carroll |
 | | Dungen : Photo by Carl Abrahamsson |
I arrived before Mia Doi Todd’s set, a beautiful acoustic affair punctuated by the strong control Todd has over both her voice and the guitarnothing more, nothing less. This set was interrupted several times, as there was a vast aural swell of drinking, with milling masses oblivious to the magic emanating from the stage. Arriving on the heels of Todd’s quiet set, during which Gustav Ejstes, mastermind behind the auditory hallucinations of Dungen, played quiet organ offstage, the sonic blast of the radically different sound was revelatory. This is a rock band; one that can reverberate the rafters of the stuffy Mid-East Downstairs and make your head shake. The initial guitar sound was nice, clean, and controlled, closely hewing to the recorded compression on the record, “Ta Det Lungt”, but when the first organ and drum interlude not needing lead guitarist Reine Fiske came, he turned to the amp, and a menacing sound of a fully cranked amp rose to fill the air. one of the highlights, their ridiculously catchy “Festival”, was positively inspirational to witness; all four musicians were finely tuned, creating a master pop song in mountainous form.
The rest of the show became a blur, as the rock hard rhythm section of Henrik Nillson and Fredrik Bjorling churned in a Hendrixian melee, while Reine wildly coaxed glorious cries from his guitar. on several songs Gustav played rhythm guitar, switching mid-song to the keyboard, or the flute, but always knowing when to let the band erupt in a fury behind him. A master on the keys as on the flute and guitar, his clear, enunciated Swedish sung out over the maelstrom. A full hour and a quarter after going on, Gustav and Fredrik, the bassist, chatted briefly, warning the crowd that this was “your last chance to cheer for us before we finish, because this last song is a long one.” What a warning! Gustav sat down and played the achingly beautiful keyboard intro to “Du Ar For Fin For Mig”, which blew up into a devastatingly intense psychedelic odyssey that finally, and unfortunately, ended well after the 1am closing time.
Other articles by David Carroll |
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