Seeing a band play at Kilby Court is a unique experience. The high school band in a garage vibe makes it feel like home for some music goers. Stickers and graffiti cover the walls inside and out. Vape and cigarette smoke fill the air in the courtyard and follow users inside the venue. The lingering smell surrounds the small low stage, and instruments are squeezed together especially for bands larger than three. The all ages venue has the air of being young and fun, and attendees are ready to listen to music way too loud.
On Oct. 20, The Dove & The Wolf opened for Torres. The duo is made up of Paloma Gil and Louise Hayat-Camard, though a drummer was present when they played. Their funky yet dreamy indie rock sound was accompanied well by their outfits as one of the girls was wearing a red jumpsuit. The mood was the kind that makes you sway your body even if you don’t mean to.
In the flashing colorful lights of the dimly lit shed, words rang familiar when Torres came on stage.
“I hope that’s what you’ll remember — not how I left, but how I entered” sang Mackenzie Scott, who is more commonly known by the stage name Torres, with passion as she danced robotically with her hands and arms when they weren’t busy on the strings of her guitar.
Being a fan of experience, Torres believes music is not just for the sense of hearing, but for the rest of the senses as well. She is known to light Palo Santo incense before shows, and the fragrance was prevalent that night at Kilby.
After the show, in the makeshift merchandise building, The Dove & The Wolf spoke to one another in French then turned and greeted fans in English. They are originally from Paris, France, but they now live in Philadelphia. One man asked “so who’s the dove and who’s the wolf?”
Everyone in the tiny room laughed when the girl in the band responded, “Guess.”
Torres’s new album “Three Futures” was released in September. You can listen to it on the website torreslovesyou.com or wherever you stream or download music on the web. The Dove & The Wolf’s label debut “I Don’t Know What to Feel” was released in March earlier this year, and it fits nicely with Torres’s sound. Their songs are perfect for easy listening, ambient music or softly sobbing over a recent break-up, bad day or just zoning out. Thedoveandthewolf.com/music has a few tracks to give you a taste and a link to their music on Spotify. Both bands make me want to drive through the night and contemplate the bigger picture — the relativity of it all — and why we are here to begin with.
@HollyVasic