Well now, it's not every day a band is able to bring the house down so eloquently as Philadelphia psycho-rockers Dr. Dog did. After a ride via taxi cab to hastily make the stage time of 9:30pm, I stumbled into the place just as the opening act Sean Bones (sorry guys, though you probably could do without my criticisms) finished their final song and trotted off stage. My backpacking-Korean friend accompanying us, after indulging him in a "famous Canadian pre-concert tradition", bought me a beer and we made our way to the front of the already packed venue. The buzz was building as the roadies set up the guitars, pedals, mics, and synths necessary for the band to dominate our ears with.
At long last they came out, playing the big rockers from their latest album Shame, Shame (seriously, this is the album that driving with the windows down in the summer was made for!), the classics from We all Belong, and, my favorite song of theirs, "Army of Ancients".
I've been to Lee's Palace a few times before, but I've never heard the acoustics there sound this clear. These guys absolutely wrecked my vocal chords with the delicious sing-alongs they coloured the venue with, and the crowd I was around was definitely into it, though that might have been because of my utter insistence to jump around whenever I wasn't taking pictures. They even came out for a couple encores, finishing the night off with the very excellent acoustic medley "Shadow People". If you get the chance to check these guys out in your town, definitely make the trip and pay the ticket price. Value-to-awesomeness, you're not going to find a better deal with any band. Thanks for coming to Toronto, Dr. Dog!
