Philly based rock band Dr. Dog has been no stranger to The Only Music Blog this year. They received high praise early in 2015, winning 'Winter Concert Season' with their performance at the legendary 9:30 Club. You can read that review in full here, containing a fuzzy memory of meeting Toby at my first trip to Gasparilla Music Fest in 2013. The group also received placement in the Best Acts of Shaky Knees Music Fest, from this past May.
Given their track record for putting on a great show, it was a no brainer to check them out at State Theatre in late September. It was the bands first gig in Florida since opening up for The Lumineers over two years ago, and they filled State to near capacity for their Monday night gig. I will say some of the crowd waited a bit later then they would have liked that night, as Dr. dog didn't hit the stage until 10:15pm.
The 'Toby' character referenced above is Toby Leaman, one of the lead singers of Dr. Dog. Leamon splits time on vocals with childhood best friend Scott McKicken. The pair share the vocal abilities, and harmonize on several tunes, giving the band a more unique feel than your standard rock band.
I thought the group came out very strong, with a plethora of fan favorites to open the show. This included 'These Days,' 'How Long Must I Wait' and 'The Old Black Hole.' All seemed to evoke an ovation louder than the previous one, before the group settled into their set. Fans were in a for a long night.
After a solid 90 minute set, Dr. Dog departed the stage for a quick break. They they encored with 'Be the Void,' getting the crowd jumping for what seemed like their final song. This however, was just the beginning of a long encore. The guys announced that they had reached the point of the night where they played every tune on the setlist, but would play a few more given it was their first time in many years back in Florida. They then took suggestions from fans shouting out song names. It was a cool moment to reward the fans with a longer set than usual.
In total, the Philly jam band performed nearly 20 songs over a full two hours. It was a late Monday night, but well worth it. These guys know how to get the crowd going and I thought their sound was the best of any of their shows I've seen this year. I'll still give the nod though to their 9:30 Club show for the overall experience.
Dr. Dog is a solid group and I'll be on the look for them again. They just announced a large headlining tour for early 2016. The only Florida stop will be an appearance at the much anticipated Okeechobee Music Fest in March.
CONCERT RATING: 3.5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment