Review: Toro Y Moi @ Camp Basement, July 19th.
Posted by: nick
Music Mule had been looking forward to this gig for months. With Toro Y Moi‘s superb ‘Causers Of This’ album working its way deeper and deeper into our cavernous musical minds, the timing could not have been better for the South Carolinan’s debut UK headline slot at Rockfeedback’s Camp Basement show in London last night. With his growing rep the show was unsurprisingly a sweaty sell out.
We’d caught the glo-fi wizard very briefly during a rushed solo set at SXSW earlier in the year and were hardly blown away with the whole affair. That was all to change though. Toro Y Moi for this UK tour, and hopefully long into the future, are a three piece. Main man Chazwick Bundick as ever handles vocals, synth, keys and all manner of dizzying loop pedals and effects that would confuse an octopus. Alongside him two new members join on live bass and drums, played with a precision and vigour this evening that really beef up Toro Y Moi’s sound and presence.
We’re taken through a myriad of could be hits from Toro Y Moi’s debut including the stunning back to back combo of ‘Blessa’ and ‘Minors’ which get things underway beautifully with their glitch-hop production and Chaz’s silky smooth vocals bumping-up the dream effect. Unlike the talented but slightly uncomfortable live performer Porcelain Raft who opened the show, Chaz is like a sportsman in the zone this evening; nothing looks difficult. It’s a joy to watch and listen as he glides between loops and effects while nailing every vocal note and effortlessly serving up one euphoric synth line after another.
Even the new tracks (we reckon they cracked out three) sounded well-developed and ready for Chaz’s second album which will reputedly also come this year. Oldie (January this year!) ‘Low Shoulder’ was the perfect set closer, turning up the groove with its gorgeous keys and driving the crowd into a dancing frenzy. Well, almost the perfect set closer, as the fiendish Monday night crowd manage to get one more musical hit in the form of a rare encore of album title track ‘Causers Of This’.
Being this good rarely looks this easy.
Toro Y Moi @ Camp Basement, July 19th 2010.
