Everyone who has the chance to spend an extended period of time in Los Angeles should make it a point to visit the Autry Museum of Southwestern Heritage, where The Dodos and Luyas played on Saturday, August 27th. Located right next to the zoo at the southeastern corner of Griffith Park, the museum includes a bevy of Native American artifacts, paintings by the 19th century landscape artists Thomas Moran and Alfred Bierstadt (who worked in many of the same Yosemite locations as Ansel Adams), and even a recreated saloon town. Both bands played in the atrium on the bottom floor to an engaged audience of a couple hundred.

The Luyas drove all the way from Montreal to play on Saturday! It seems an odd choice to begin a tour 3,500 miles from home, but lead singer Jessie Stein remarked between songs that Los Angeles was the only place besides Montreal where the band feels at home. She brings a quirky, Miranda July quality to her performance, experimenting with intonations, even whispering large patches of lyrics. Drummer Stefan Schneider plays with an excellent math rock style, and French horn player Pietro Amato has played with Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire. Stein’s guitar went mute for a minute during the set, but the band played through and the audience enjoyed the improvisation. Be sure to check out their Too Beautiful to Work LP, which was released via Dead Oceans in February.

DJ cut between sets: “Point That Thing Somewhere Else” by The Clean

The Dodos capitalized off of the energy built during Luyas’ set, as it’s apparent that the bands share many of the same fans. Guitarist Meric Long and Drummer Logan Kroeber maintain a lot of energy without coming off as over-the-top. The two mesh well together. While Luyas’ features more of a rise and fall of action, the Dodos take the best from Neutral Milk Hotel in that even their softest sound has a roughness and intensity to it. If WU FLY plays self-described heavy pop, Dodos play ‘super jangle’. The selections off No Color were interpreted with pinpoint accuracy and the audience loving every minute. Late in the set, Amato joined in for a French horn solo from the concourse above, which was the highlight of the set. A strong showing by the lads from San Francisco. Contributed by Chris Gedos

RATING: 8.0