Live: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs @ Deaf Institute

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Deaf Institute
9th February
5 stars

With a name that would capture the attention of pretty much anybody with eyes or ears, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or TEED for short) is in fact the extravagant brainchild of just one man from Oxford – Orlando Higginbottom. You may be quick to criticise his choice of moniker, however, I think Higginbottom should be applauded for veering away from the typically reclusive and often boring names that many producers opt for. I’ve also never met a person who doesn’t like dinosaurs.

Having released a number of notable EPs in the past three years or so, this current tour is in support of TEED’s widely anticipated debut album, released on Polydor in May this year. The night kicked off with a fairly mediocre performance from Lulu James, during which the crowd was effectively gassed by the over-eager use of smoke machines. It was tough at times to even see Lulu due to the smog, which would’ve probably rivalled a small battlefield at Ypres. Fortunately though, by quarter to nine, the figure of a man-sized triceratops emerged out of the mist. Let the prehistoric party begin.

The atmosphere changed immediately, and from the off it was clear that the show would be a rather memorable spectacle. Melodies soared, basslines rumbled and by the time ‘Garden’ came on there wasn’t a single foot standing still in the room. In fact, if it wasn’t for the gig-like applause at the end of each song, I could’ve jumped up and down constantly for the whole set. As a solo artist, TEED’s own brand of electro-powerpop is utterly infectious. His style is unique and requires a huge amount of coordination in order to mix and sing at the same time. On the technical side, his set up included a variety of synths, controllers, and presumably Ableton running on his lappy. There were also two dancers and a lot of confetti.

At the crowd’s behest, the planned encore was abandoned and mixed into part of the set. Tracks like ‘Dream On’ and ‘Blood Pressure’ really stood out and, despite being completely different in their composition, serve to show the range of Higginbottom’s talent as a producer. If anything, he just needs to play for longer at a bigger venue.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden (live)