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March 18, 2007
Dr. Dog - Live @ The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA - 3.14.2007
"Who are all you people?" Was the question Scott "Taxi" McMicken posed to the crowd at a sardined (if not quite sold-out) show at the Troubadour. "Are you film extras? Are they shooting some new reality show here tonight?"
Alright, so perhaps it wasn't the most original stage banter, given the gig's location. But these Dog lovers didn't seem to mind. Hell, the crowd didn't even bat a blue eye. This is L.A., after all. And chances are: by day, they are film extras.
Now, let me be honest here and say, I have a New Yorker's distrust for Los Angeles. If ever there were a place where the "World May Never Know" lyric "this city ain't nothing but show" applies, I think surely this must be it.
But that said, for as many times as I've seen Dr. Dog, I've never seen the Philly natives looking more at home then they did here, in the midst of Tinseltown's freakish global-warmed weather.
Suddenly, the psych rock whimsy, the sing-a-long whoopee all seemed so startlingly West Coast. I mean, god, even the boys' matching shoes (those navy-blue, slip-on, fishermen-looking deals) seemed to make so much more sense here! They appeared on stage looking suntanned, spry, and almost health-conscious. Instead of guzzling beer between songs, get this... they were chomping on apples.
And how did they sound?
Really fucking good.
How fucking good?
So fucking good, in fact, that no one could keep from gushing about it. Not the (ordinarily) surly sound techs. Not the kids crossing Santa Monica Boulevard to retrieve their German roadsters from $8 parking. Even Jeffrey Lewis Band drummer David Beauchamp was idling on the sidewalk after the show, remarking, "Yeah, when I heard them practicing the other day, I thought, 'Wow, they've gotten really fucking good!'"
A well-proportioned set list included both the recent (We All Belong's "Die, Die, Die," "The Girl," and "Old Ways") and the classic (Easy Beat's yelpier songs). During "Wake Up," opener Bobby Bare Jr. leapt onstage to lend a hand with the chorus. And the apropos encore was... Yep, you guessed it: "California."
As for performance, rest assured, the calisthenics are still all there. Taxi still hops around on one spindly leg. Toby "Tables" Leaman still busts out those moves that look like waist-down jumping jacks. The Dog hasn't lost its young puppy energy, but gone is the muddle, the hesitation, the kind of big-pawed tripping over itself. If anything, the band sounds louder; huskier; full-grown; like they're still friendly enough to pet; but suddenly they're strong-jawed enough to be a terror to feeble, old people and very small children.
I'm sorry for the dog puns, but suck it up.
This band's not heeling. It's not sitting. And neither will you if you see them this tour.
Doggie fetch more photos after the jump...
// Dr. Dog - We All Belong - Buy.
// Dr. Dog - Takers and Leavers - Buy.
// Dr. Dog - Easy Beat - Buy.
// Dr. Dog - Site.
// Dr. Dog - Myspace.
DR. DOG TOUR DATES::
Mar 20 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
Mar 21 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
Mar 22 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
Mar 23- Chicago, IL - Schuba's Tavern
Mar 24 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's Tavern
Mar 25 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
Mar 27 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
Mar 28 - Columbia, OH - Little Brother's
Apr 5 - Brooklyn, NY - Soundfix (in store)
Apr 5 - New York City - Bowery Ballroom
Apr 25 - Portland, ME - Space Gallery
Apr 26 - Boston, MA - Middle East
Apr 27 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
Apr 28 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
May 1 - Montreal, QC - Main Hall
May 2 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
May 5 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
May 8 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle Tavern and Music Hall
May 9 - Raleigh, NC - Schoolkids Records (in store)
May 9 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
May 11 - Charlottesville, VA - Star Hill Music Hall
May 12 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
Posted by Koren Zailckas at March 18, 2007 11:00 AM
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Comments
Well, thanks to you (and emusic), I'm getting quite addicted to these guys. They remind me a little of the Cold War Kids, except fun and not preachy.
Posted by: Randall Monty at March 25, 2007 10:25 PM
