Words by Audra Tracy | Photos by David Turcotte
The members of Dr. Dog may not be known as sex symbols, nor flashy guitar heroes, nor even rock n’ roll rebels. In fact, their image is as unassuming as it gets. When the Philly indie rockers take the stage, it looks like a group of blue collar dudes just finished their shift at the factory and wandered into the spotlight.
But in reality, they just sold out four nights at Bowery Ballroom, in the dead of winter, when no one even wants to be in New York City. And that’s because once they get in the groove, they are one of the tightest live acts around. If you haven’t seen these guys in concert yet, you can find proof by dropping the needle on their new release, Live at a Flamingo Hotel, which hit the streets on January 13th.
After an opening set from Field Mouse, the headliner emerged around 10PM, wearing matching shoes. “New York City…very nice of you to show up”, bassist Toby Leaman cooed into the mic before Dr. Dog launched into the final set of their Big Apple residency.
The band didn’t need to make small talk, and they didn’t try to amp up the audience with over-the-top antics either. That’s just not their style. Instead, the sweet-as-honey harmonies took hold, and fans made it pretty obvious what songs were the crowd-pleasers by singing their poof-ball hats off to tunes like ‘The Old Days’, ‘Jackie Wants A Black Eye’, and ‘Shadow People.’
It was cozy, it was warm, and it didn’t feel like a New York City show at all – because everyone here was smiling.
Setlist:
Long Way Down
Stranger
Today
Hang On
Heavy Light
100 Years
The Old Days
Army of Ancients
Easy Beat
Cuckoo
Jackie Wants a Black Eye
Heart It Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover)
Mystery to Me
Die Die Die
Turning the Century
These Days
Shadow People
Encore:
The Beach
The Truth
Nellie
How Long Must I Wait
Lonesome
That Old Black Hole
www.drdogmusic.com
TheWaster.com | NYC
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