Panda Bear and Toro y Moi @ Roadrunner 2/12

Photos by Brianna Benitez

Review by Jonny Malyon

Nourished by Time:

Toro y Moi and Panda Bear are on a co-headlining tour for Toro y Moi’s eighth studio album, “Hole Erth” and Panda Bear’s upcoming album, “Sinister Grift.” Opening the night was Nourished by Time, Marcus Brown’s solo project. Brown was supported by musicians on either side providing bass and guitar support while a drum machine locked in the rhythmic backbone. Brown’s ability to float his vocals over this support and add tasteful synth lines here and there was extremely captivating. The whole set struck a delicate balance between feeling comfortable and familiar, but entirely fresh at the same time. This description could apply to much of Toro y Moi and Panda Bear’s music as well: it was a great set to establish the vibe of the evening. 

Panda Bear:

Up next was Panda Bear, Noah Lennox’s stage name. Lennox is a co-founding member of Animal Collective, who I have seen a handful of times over the years. I was anxious to see how his solo set would compare and I was not disappointed. Rather than compete with the maximal sound of Animal Collective, Lennox took a different approach. The stage set up and sound felt strikingly reminiscent of an old-school rock ‘n’ roll band. Lennox stood front and center with his electric guitar, while supported by a drummer and bassist behind him. The only twist was a synth player offering lead lines and atmosphere to his right, and the final bandmate triggering and manipulating various audio samples to his left. 

Lennox’s set started and ended feeling like his take on surf-rock. The rhythms were incredibly tight and groovy, with Lennox’s ability to craft the most intoxicating melodies on full display. Tracks from the upcoming record were played, including my personal favorite, “Defense,” as well as a few songs from his previous solo records. The set was focused on the music, with minimal crowd interactions, one song rolling into the next and delineations between them blurring at times as the band jammed on each. Even as Lennox stopped midway to tune his guitar, audio samples and instrumental noodling from the band filled the space after a quick apology. The energy of the set was thankfully not that of an outdated experimental pop icon struggling to remain relevant. Rather, the love that Lennox had for creating and sharing music was palpable. He demonstrated clearly that he is not stuck in the past, but rather growing and evolving as an artist, continually redefining who he is and trying new things. “Sinister Grift” is shaping up to be a new look at his artistry, while showcasing everything that he has done so well over his impressive career.

Toro y Moi:

Toro y Moi, Chaz Bear’s musical project, finished off the night with an incredibly ambitious set, covering much of his prolific and diverse career. Bear was joined on stage by three other musicians. The four of them were all facing each other with their various setups in close proximity, almost as if they were all circling a table in the middle of the stage. Bear was contributing critical synth parts along with his vocal performance, often roaming the stage, mic in hand, dancing to the music. The other musicians were supplying additional keyboards, bass, beats, and various backing layers as needed. The cumulative sound was great, even when feature vocals were played over the loudspeakers, namely Don Toliver and Ben Gibbard on “Madonna” and “Hollywood” respectively. 

While the set definitely highlighted “Hole Erth,” Bear intentionally shouted out his previous works. After asking the audience to cheer for “Hole Erth,” he thanked us all for listening and highlighted that it was album number eight! Throughout the set, he played a number of his bigger songs from previous records, such as “Girl Like You” and “Ordinary Pleasure.” Towards the end of the set, there seemed to be a bit of a transition as Bear went back to even earlier in his career and played more of the hypnotically grooving tracks from “Anything in Return.” It was clear from his set that Bear has been making extremely high-quality, evolving, experimental, and almost unwaveringly danceable music his entire career. For those who have followed along for the ride, seeing it all on display was an overwhelmingly beautiful experience. 

This beauty was punctuated by Bear’s near-permanent smile and the positive energy emanating from him as he performed. It was infectious. I am impressed by his ability to remain humble and creatively hungry throughout his extensive career, with both attributes on full display. Rather than end the night with an encore, Bear played “The Difference,” his most popular song done with producer Flume, brought his band up for an embrace and a bow, and waved us all goodnight with a smile.