Friday, November 28 at the Starlight Ballroom in North Philly. Simply amazing.
I was a little disappointed earlier this week when I read Rolling Stone’s Top Albums of 2008. Their No. 1 pick, TV on the Radio, was great (Spin had the same pick. How original). But I must happily admit — my former colleagues over at The Daily Texan nailed it. They ranked Dr. Dog’s “Fate” as the No. 1 album of 2008, when Rolling Stone somehow left it off their entire list! Come on — Coldplay and My Morning Jacket even made their top 10! Lame. Lame. Lame.
So I got inspired to load up these pictures from their day-after-Thanksgiving show and share my little two cents about the experience. They covered the stage in lush, tropical plants, vines and trees, and they took their happy ass time doing it — at least 20 minutes — while they looped the most bothersome lounge-style elevator music. Yes, it was a cool set piece if you are into remote forests and such. But just reminiscing on the experience made that annoying song start to repeat in my head once again.
They played a great show, and the audience was alive. I think the positive energy had something to do with the band being local. So often touring bands seems as if they are just running through the motions of a show they’ve done night after night, week after week. But luckily, I got to see these Philly natives play for the long-time fans that have carried them to stardom. They wore brightly colored sunglasses and fedoras, and you could certainly feel their vivacity.
I went with a family friend who lives in the Philly burbs and her two teenage sons, so she and I chilled in the bar area while the opening bands played. If you plan on drinking at a show, this venue is not for you — you can’t take drinks outside the bar, which is on the complete opposite side from the stage. I wasn’t too impressed with the opening bands — Illinios, Bardo Pond, and Spinto Band — but maybe that was because I was too far away from the stage to hear them.
It was an all-ages show, meaning I was surrounded by high schoolers and there was a young girl hung over the trash can in the bathroom, her teen boyfriend holding her hair back — stuff you just don’t seen in 21+ venues. I can’t quite put my finger on whether it made me feel young again or like an old lady, but seeing girls with gaga eyes giggling at every move the lead singer made certainly reminded me of the week-long high I got from seeing Bush (oh, dear Gavin) live at the Oklahoma fairgrounds when I was 12.
Long story short, Dr. Dog freaking rocked. 
