REVIEW: TAUK @ Brighton Music Hall 2/13

Review by Michelle Leung

New York natives TAUK returned to Boston’s Brighton Music Hall Friday night with the second leg of the “Somewhere Between Here And There” Tour to much applause and fanfare. After successfully playing the tour’s first stretch in Brooklyn and Portland, as well as participating in the Gem and Jam Festival, TAUK will continue touring until the end of April. 

In the dim lighting of the venue, the crowd buzzed with excited chatter, flooding in during the opening performance by three-piece group MJT the Band. Composed of the Godfrey brothers, and self-described as a “musical force of nature,” the alternative rock band set the tone with Jordan’s bombastic and invigorating drumming technique, Matt’s double mastery of keyboard and synth bass, and David’s atmospheric electric guitar and vocals. MJT played for an hour, with David’s soulful singing supported by Matt’s high harmonies during groovy songs like “Hopeless” and “Mr. NoOne.” 

The trifecta was concentrated in a small radius of the stage. Making the most of the proximity, David would frequently turn his back to the crowd and nod to the beat, making eye contact with his brothers who headbanged alongside him. Notably, they threw in a fun twist of the iconic rock anthem “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears, sampling the melody and taking turns to solo over the recognizable tune. 

After MJT concluded their set, TAUK briefly hopped on the stage to tune up, officially starting their set at 9:30 p.m. The band was founded by Long Island natives Charlie Dolan, Matt Jalbert, and Alric “A.C.” Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers before forming their current iteration in 2012, with the addition of Isaac Teel. TAUK is unique in that it has no vocalist; the music is completely instrumental, with Dolan on bass, Jalbert on guitar, Carter on keyboard, and Teel on drums. 

TAUK has been pushing sonic boundaries for nearly a decade, experimenting with the fusion of progressive rock, soul, funk, hip-hop, and EDM into complete, flowing melodic experiences. Amusingly, the quartet took the stage with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Jalbert introduced the band quickly and succinctly, seeming eager to jump straight into the music. 

Starting with a funky, electronic-focused track from 2016, “Program Select,” TAUK swiftly took over the intimate venue, utilizing several catchy keyboard motifs and building each one with the increased additions and complexity of the electric guitar and drums. They followed with an electric guitar-forward song, “Recreational Outrage,” continuously pushing the beat forward with exciting tension supported by the keys. The track could be lifted from a sci-fi movie soundtrack, the steady pulsing bass beat hitting reliably on counts one and three, complete with atmospheric, dreamy chords. 

With their next song, “Convoy,” there was ample time for the bass to perform a beautiful solo, emerging from its typical background rhythm instrument role. A.C. banged out some fantastic refrains and trills on his keyboard, with guitarist Jalbert grinning and nodding in appreciation. Teel gave a shout-out to A.C. as the song ended, also announcing that A.C. had attended Boston’s Northeastern University. 

Then came “CMF 9000” off the 2018 album “Shapeshifter II: Outbreak,” featuring an impossibly catchy main sting, which TAUK returned to time and time again throughout the six-minute song. TAUK is especially skilled at stripping back their main melody, then adding little flairs and counter-melodies bit-by-bit until they successfully snowball back into sonically full lead-driven solos. 

From there, the transition into the next track was buttery smooth— TAUK headed right into “Where You Are” without missing a beat. It’s the ninth track off their 2016 album “Sir Nebula,” heavily highlighting their plucky synths and grand organ samples. Midway through the song, drummer Teel interacted with the crowd, slamming down twice in quick succession on the bass drum and cymbals before pointing his drumstick at the audience, who whooped “woo!” The exchange happened eight times, with more and more fans delightedly joining in. 

TAUK have expertly integrated punchy techno sounds into their songs, peppered throughout keyboard trills and repetitive guitar licks. They continued with fan favorites “Hello Narwhal,” “Song For Salma,” “Melvin’s Mind,” and “Not Your Nemesis,” before playing the bass-heavy “Hot Brown” off the new album. Following these heavy-hitters came “The Let Out ” and “Revenge of Weenus,” before the 30-minute encore with “Eldridge Awakens” and “In the Basement of the Alamo.” 

Coming into the evening, I anticipated an extremely different concert experience, but it was a wonderful realization that TAUK’s concert felt largely similar to enjoying classical or jazz music live. As TAUK continues to innovate, fusing genres with their expertise, they will remain important figures, setting the stage for future instrumental bands.