Wonder Ballroom, Portland
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
"How do you spell happy?" I heard a stumbling texter shout this to his friend approaching the venue. The reply was not audible.
"One or two Ps" he again asked? How many Ps are in the word "Happy?" What a great way to get the night started.
Even though I've read about how great Dr. Dog is, I didn't start listening to them until about two months ago, and this was my first time seeing them live. So those old school Dr. Dog fans can roll your eyes at my commentary, and fast forward to the setlist, because you are not going to read anything you didn't already know. Did you know their harmonies sound like the Beatles?
Great musicians, high energy, and an unnecessarily cool light show. I say unnecessary, because it almost distracted from what they were doing on stage. They might still have a couple lights flashing during their daylight set at Sasquatch, but it won't be needed. The dueling guitars on a couple songs was a pleasant surprise, and something I overlooked listening to their albums. A prevalent piano is always welcome, although he was basically hidden from the crowd on stage. They also played over 90 minutes, which all bands should at least attempt if we're paying $20+.
One very minor complaint. Instead of screaming the screamer parts on Army of Ancients and Hang On, he instead sang them, which was a bit disappointing. Then I realized you can't really expect someone with a gargling yell to be able to pull that off live seven songs a night, a couple times a week.
Overall, this band puts on an outstanding rock show. There was nothing ultra spectacular, or extremely memorable, but they more than made up for that with their energy and stage presence. If you are new to the band, Shame Shame on you for missing out. If you've never seen them live, go see them at Sasquatch. I'll pay a large sum each time they are back through town, and would love to see them again at Sasquatch (although, if it means not seeing Zooey, sorry, Monday afternoon is pretty stacked).
I left the venue grinning ear to ear. Two blocks later, I passed the spot I initially heard the stumbling texter on the way in, so I decided to text a couple friends. "Dr. Dog made me very Hapy."
10:18 - 11:54
1. Stranger
2. I Only Wear Blue
3. The Old Days
4. Army of Ancients (with a Happy Birthday to fan intro)
5. The Breeze
6. Mirror, Mirror
7. The Ark (Highlight)
8. Station
9. The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer (Highlight)
10. Someday
11. Shadow People
12. Where'd All the Time Go?
13. The Beach
14. Unbearable Why
15. Hang On
16. From
17. Later
18. ???? I was getting accosted by a security guard here, blame him.
19. Shame Shame
20. My Friend
Encore
21. Jackie Wants a Black Eye
22. Heart It Races
22. Holy Moley??? (they said it was a song they never played, but several people cheered when it started)
23. My Friend (the other part)
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