The audience took their seats in The Englert Theatre, awaiting a night of music from Tortoise, a Chicago-based band. The five-member band performed on the evening of April 4, the second day of Hancher Auditorium’s new Stop/Time festival. 

The band’s setup consisted of a variety of instruments including two drumkits, two keyboards, three electric/bass guitars, two synthesizers, and two vibraphones. As the band took the stage underneath blue spotlights, warm light illuminated them for their first song.

The song began with a rhythmic, pulsing kick of the drums accompanied by the tambourine, which would be featured throughout the set. The synthesizer and two guitars joined in, contributing to the piece’s slow and rhythmic feel. The sound became higher, reaching almost a deafening pitch, before fading to audience applause.

The band’s songs had no lyrics, so the songs were differentiated by sound and light changes. With the next song, the lights changed from a deep blue to pink, and the song began with a deep, almost warbling sound from the synthesizer. The two drummers picked up the rhythm, and the guitar joined in, too.

The rhythmic sound was approved by the audience with head bobs, and was a sound that could be felt in your chest. Maggie Adams, a second-year University of Iowa student, noted this feeling with humor.

“[I was] impressed with how many different instruments all play — it was very interchangeable, nice, ambient,” they said. “Anytime a band can, like, vibrate the inside of my nostrils with the bass, I like it.”

As the set continued, the band members would switch instruments almost every song. Sometimes, one drummer would play a keyboard-like instrument, or the guitarist would operate the synthesizer, or a drummer would play the vibraphone and tambourine.

Toward the end of the set, three band members played the two vibraphones, two playing on one, and one on the other. Perla Camacho, a second-year UI student who attended with Adams, said this was her favorite moment in the set.

“I love the moment when they were playing with both vibraphones,” she said.

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Taking inspiration from various sonic themes and transitions from bands like Phish, Slint, and Stereolab, there were unique instrumentalist sections throughout each song. For example, xylophone chattering up and down while Kraftwerk-like ambience filled the background and a ghostly reverb provided a foundation.

Different from other live performances, there was not much interaction with the audience, with the band members preferring to let the music speak for itself.

“I just love to go out and support live music,” August Santoro, a first-year UI student, said with a smile wrapped around his face.

Other distinct moments included: almost medieval sounding interludes with electric guitars shredding over them, naturalistic tones with folktronica embellishments and electronic cricket and bird chirps, and incredible drum solos between the two drum setup. In fact, the drums were typically what controlled both the tempo and the intensity, signifying each song buildup a bit before it happened.

“I’m just kind of a music nerd, so I got into all the different sounds,” Chase Cournoyer, a frequent bass player and UI first-year student, said.

A heavy use in sampling and echo, combined with the strange sound design for the synthesizers, made much of the performance sound otherworldly and transcendent. This futuristic type of sound is a signature of Tortoise, who defined itself as special on the stage by bringing such unique music to the Englert.

The whole set was essentially a gigantic jam session, with each member enjoying themselves wholeheartedly as they grooved out on their respective instruments. This classic musicianship, combined with a unique knowledge of genres of music including hip-hop, dub, and world, informed the night and made it one for the ages.

As the set concluded, the audience rose to its feet with hearty applause and cheers. The musicians bowed and exited the stage, but the night was not over. Spurred by the enthusiastic applause from the audience, the band came back out for an exciting encore performance.

“It’s always funny when an encore happens because you never know if it will,” Adams said.

The last notes of the encore faded, the audience cheered, whistled and applauded for the band’s performance. The audience filed out of the theater, talking and laughing, concluding the second night of the Stop /Time festival.