Friday, March 23, 2012

Dr. Dog - March 2012

Good God these men can rock. I went to Dr. Dog this past week and the show exceeded my expectations, big time. While I dig their tunes and love how they fit so well with this spring/summer-like weather in Upstate NY, I did not expect it to be so high energy and well, sweaty.

These Pennsylvania natives came to Northern Lights in Clifton Park and jammed their hearts out. The sound was so not right, and at times you couldn't even hear the vocals because the loudness of the instrumentals but it was still welcomed by the crowd. I would love to hear them again at an outdoor festival because of the nature of their live-style.

Their most recent album, 'Be The Void,' is more folky-rock, full of harmonies. I was drawn to their later albums, 'Shame Shame,' and 'Fate.' These two albums are a little more punk-rock and now after seeing them, totally depicts their live performance. Their songs from, 'Be The Void,' seemed like their reprieve to gather their composure and recharge their engines. Some of their older stuff leans a bit towards the psychedelic genre, and that was displayed but a 5-6 minute jam extended from a tune I did not know the name of. The electric guitars provided a very trance-like vibe and the crowd was able to stop jamming for a minute, sip their PBRs/H20s and catch their breath.

I came straight from my guitar lesson so I was paying close attention to the band member's left hands. "OO i think that chord was E major...no no wait, A minor!"  Something I rarely pay attention to is the stage design, but their backdrop was unique. It had coffee-shop vibe with dimly lit lamps donning vintage shades. But it also had a mascot-like, tiger head hanging from the ceiling, which I've yet to find out the significance. On chalk board style easels were the names of the cities they have played in, which displayed the diversity of their tour.

I went with my friend Jay who never heard of them, or their songs and he had a great time. I love going to shows with Jay. He's always down to go to random bands that I dig and knows how to have a good show. Jay is also the dude who encouraged me to start reviewing again! My friend Ryen also new to Dr. Dog, showed up too! He also reported liking the tunes but agreed that the sound guy needed to get his shit together. Ryen also thought the venue smelled bad, which I'm sure he is correct but I'm used to it by now. I have lost count how many shows I've been to there, and I correlate the stank with the greatness of the show. The smellier the bettahhhhh.

The band consists of 5 dudes, 2 of the wore sunglasses the entire show. I kind of hate that, but I mean I'm  not a rockstar yet, so maybe I'm hating because I'm envious.  All in all, I think for Northern Lights it was another great show. $17 worth for sure.

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