Oh Dr. Dog, you make it look way too easy. My god you put on a good show. Some bands have... "it," Dr. Dog is one of those bands. If I went to see them again tonight in Buffalo the show probably wouldn't be too much different. Oh sure, the club would be smaller, the crowd would be different, and Monday is definitely different than Saturday, but you know, they don't seem to be a band that mixes it up too much from night to night. And yet, similar to an MMJ or a Wilco, I know, if I DID go back for second helpings, my enjoyment not only would not diminish, it might increase with a repeated viewing. These guys have got their act down to a super tight live morsel, yet keep it loose and energized on stage for a totally in-the-moment feeling. When the bass went down, a small improvised waiting-for-the-bass song emerged. It's the little things really, but the point is, every part of the show was air tight, even the unrehearsed. The few new tunes they sprinkled in from their upcoming release fit together with the older material, and the much older material for that matter, like pieces of an ever expanding puzzle. Dr. Dog doesn't drop their older material like many other bands. Their sound has evolved at a slow pace, so their older and newer material go well together naturally. Their fame has also been growing rather slowly, but I'll be surprised if they don't finally break it open in 2010. They are ready to take the next step.
Opening act The Growlers played Tex-Mex tinged psychedelic rock, with some surf thrown in for good measure. The lead singer had a Bill Murray playing Mike Meyers doing a Jim Morrison impression thing going on. Close your eyes and picture it. Yep, that's what it looked like. It was an enjoyable opening set. I was disappointed to miss the first act, The Silent League, given their Hopewell heritage and given that Hopewell totally kicks ass. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll come back. Or maybe they sucked and I missed nothing, I just don't know.
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