Toro Y Moi: Too Cool To Handle

Approaching the mic, Chaz Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi, hit the crowd with a sly smile. The gracious and confident demeanor he possessed behind his round, “Lennon” glasses was too cool for some to handle. It put the crowd into a frenzy. Well wishes and proclamations of love, from the crowd, filled the Neptune Theatre before he had a chance to touch his keyboard. The caliber of the performance that followed could left me wondering: Was it his birthday or mine?

The evening marked the first stop of a thirteen-city tour with openers, The Mattson 2. The tour is in line with a collaborative album between Bundick and TM2 straightforwardly titled, “Chad Bundick Meets The Mattson 2,” set to release in March of 2017.

The identical twin duo, Jared and Jonathan, said next-to-nothing and let their sea-breezing instrumentals and jazzy percussion speak for themselves. The crowd, toting symbols of counter-culture from yesteryear— denim shirts, flowery tops, overalls and frizzy hair— recognized the Mattsons as their own. Every drum solo and high pitched riff was met with applause.

After their set ended it did not take long for Toro Y Moi’s sextet to grace the stage. Bundick’s followers have a look; it’s a look that screams a lot of things, “let smoke before we study” maybe, but “I love to dance” is not one of them. The crowd begged for old material. The crowd wanted “Blessa.” The crowd got something better, they got to dance!

Toro Y Moi proceeded to transform regular “head-bobbers” into Soul Train extras by the first couple songs. It was an awesome switch up from what the band is known for.

Chillwave, a sound that Toro Y Moi has been championing for the last seven years has a ceiling— a defined capacity. Bundick broke down those barriers—and the synth effects that usually operate steadily in the headphones from Toro Y Moi’s studio work were free to explore the edges. Bundick cracked the egg that the tracks live in and whipped up funk-based renditions of his most popular songs.

“So Many Details” was given heavy hip-hop underlays that lent the synth keys a bounce not present on the studio version. Each song in the show got similar treatment. An encore was to be expected after the show Toro Y Moi put on. “Say That” was the final song of the night. It’s a dynamic synth-symphony that layers Congo beat percussion with jamming guitar and keys.

Toro Y Moi came to Seattle and delivered. What a hell of a way to celebrate a thirtieth birthday.

Review by Anthony Nathan
Photos by Arel Watson

Toro Y Moi

The Mattson 2