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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Live Review Dr. Dog

Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 5:10 PM

1drdog.jpg
Photo NOT from last night

Dr. Dog live @ Doug Fir, 9/24/08

Prior to last night I had no direct experience with Philadelphia's Dr. Dog. I'd read and heard about them, but never really listened to their music. The rumors were good though--that the group sounded like the Beatles and liked to jam. OK, well let's give it a go then. No better time than a sold out show.

Lord was I disappointed.

Dr. Dog's repetative nonsense reminded me of something Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) said in a recent interview regarding his quest for purity and truth in music:

"You could get ten people to play exactly the same then notes and nine of them might mean nothing and the rest might lift you mentally. It's not about the notes you play, it's not about the songs. It's where things hang between those notes."

And throughout Dr. Dog, I couldn't find a damn thing between the notes.

The five of them (two guitars, bass, keys and drums) just sort of stomped around without aplomb. One plodding mid-tempo saccharine pop song after another. Lifeless jams without a focal point or meaningful movement. Jams as rehearsed.

Living in mid-tempo, as Dr. Dog most certainly did, is like driving a car locked in 2nd gear--unless you've got a Ferrari (read: extraordinary gifts of composition, melody and/or talent), it's a grating bore.

In Dog I heard nothing remotely resembling the Beatles (who had the gifts enough to own mid-tempo, though they chose not to). A friend who had seen the band "since they played for four people" told me Dog's earlier records followed the Liverpudlian bent, but the influence had been trailing off as of late.

What I saw was a bunch of ex-hippie jam band wankers who thought fedoras and sunglasses would make people think they had some edge. They don't. Which isn't to say that Dr. Dog have completely disavowed their hippy roots--there was plenty of work-a-day stoners in the crowd doing the twisty arms Woodstock Wiggle.

"These guys would kill it at Bonnaroo," I said to my friend. "They do," he shot back. I think they'd do alright at the Oregon Country Fair to boot... (or is that, "to Birkenstock")

But hey, the crowd ate it up, all they way down to the white man's burden, gravelly voiced, over inflicted, bass player's drudge (to his credit, the guitarist's vocals were much more pleasant, and at times catchy).

Overall though, I just don't see it. Dr. Dog is rock at it's most re-tread and bland.

 

Comments (4) RSS

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1
You just wrote my review of the recent Built to Spill show at Wonder, except you spelled "Built to Spill" wrong.
Posted by ROM on September 25, 2008 at 2:56 PM · Report
2
Saw these guys in Eugene (home of the Oregon Country Fair) to a not-sold-out crowd. While I have to agree that Dr. Dog's live act is unimpressive and flat, did you catch the openers Delta Spirit? Never have a been to three shows in a row where the opening acts outshone the headliners. On Friday it was N*E*R*D upstaging a clueless Common; on Saturday it was the better-gifted Sea Wolf kicking the pants off of Okkervil River; and on Monday it was Delta Spirit, hands down all the way. I'm just curious as to whether you agree. (Or are you a show-up-for-the-headliners kind of guy?)
Posted by Mr. Chuck on September 25, 2008 at 4:03 PM · Report
3
I did not make it in time for Delta Spirit, although I wanted to.
Posted by workingclassdog on September 25, 2008 at 4:06 PM · Report
4
interesting perspective. here's another:

http://gimdang.blogspot.com/2008/09/dr-dog…
Posted by some dude on October 7, 2008 at 10:01 AM · Report

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