My first encounter with Dr. Dog happened during my sophomore year of high school, right after they’d released their third album, We All Belong. It was probably the least mainstream CD I had ever owned, a gateway into the world of less-than-perfect recordings. I’ve grown a lot since then, and so has Dr. Dog: three years and a new label later, their fifth album, Shame, Shame, peaked at 44 on the Billboard 200. The Philadelphia-based band also played two sold out shows at the Paradise last weekend on the second round of their Shame, Shame tour.
The band played two 90 minute sets on Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday show included a 16-minute run through of their first album, Toothbrush, as well as a smattering of singles from their first few albums.
Commonly referred to as a “psychedelic rock band,” Dr. Dog held true to their title, busting out head-banging, hip-swinging tunes that could have just as easily been featured at Woodstock. What makes the band unique is their style, complete with a stained-glass backdrop and guitars decorated with rhinestones and butterfly stickers. The band’s nonchalance combined with their raw music brought a lively performance to the Paradise that fulfilled the eager crowd’s expectations perfectly.
Dr. Dog is well-known for putting on great shows, and one of their goals in switching from Park the Van to ANTI records was to produce an album that is more reminiscent of the quality of their live performances. In this respect, Dr. Dog hit the mark; their newest album is perfect for performing, and they performed it perfectly.
The show did carry out an interesting dynamic between the headliner and its opening act, The Head and The Heart. The Head and The Heart have been heralded as Seattle’s next big thing, and although the Sunday show was their last stop on the Dr. Dog tour, the band has been generating a lot of buzz. More tuned down and folk-based than Dr. Dog, The Head and The Heart pulled the crowd in to their set with their powerful energy and sentimental lyrics.
Just as Dr. Dog has grown into a well-established band, I’ve grown since my purchase of We All Belong. It might have been this or it might have been something else, but during Dr. Dog’s performance, I found myself missing the easy music of the opening act. Dr. Dog’s set was great – they played most of my favorites and mixed in a lot of variety – but the vivaciousness and feel-good vibes of The Head and The Heart won me over more than the headliner’s set.
The encore, however, reminded me of why Dr. Dog has done so well for themselves: they closed with “Jackie Wants A Black Eye,” one of their standard anthem songs, with both bands hopping around on stage and clapping the beat and the audience doing the same. They may not have put on a mind-blowing show, but they made it clear that they could not only attract a full house for two shows, but also entertain the audience. As bassist and lead vocalist Toby Leaman said at one point during the show, “That’s the way it goes. Rock ‘n’ Roll is annoying.”
