Road trips typically follow a pattern. At first, there’s an immense weight lifted from the travelers’ shoulders as the mundane burdens of everyday life temporarily take a backseat to the boundless possibilities that lay ahead. That came with my trip to Boston last Thursday to experience Dr. Dog at House of Blues for the first time outside of the Philly area. However, as the days pass, one begins to miss the comforts of home. With these things in mind, Dr. Dog completed its recent stint of tour dates promoting their latest album Be the Void with a pair of shows at the Electric Factory where I caught up with them again for the tour closer this past Sunday.
Playing a set that was largely a mix of songs from their previous two studio releases Fate and Shame, Shame along with Be the Void, the retro-rockers cooked up their special brand of neo-psychedelic comfort food for the hometown crowd, and the audience couldn’t get enough.
Unlike previous dates on their current campaign, the set began with a triad of tracks from Shame, Shame before jumping into “The Ark,” a song that epitomizes the band’s sound. Clean yet gritty dual guitar licks meshed with raw, earthy lead vocals that are smoothed out with rich harmonies while each layer added its own texture.
A few songs later, “I Only Wear Blue” proved to be a crowd-pleaser as Toby Leaman’s thumping bass set the pace, and the remaining ingredients fell into place. The main set was finished off with a pair of gems. “The Girl,” another fan favorite – off We All Belong that hadn’t been played on the tour to date, was taken out of storage for the hardcore local heads, who demonstrated their appreciation by collectively singing the vast majority of the track. “Jackie Wants a Black Eye” followed and unlike the Boston audience a few days earlier, the crowd jumped at the chance to participate clapping along to the beat and “swapping little pieces of their broken little hearts.”
Be the Void played a crucial role during the encore as three of its songs made the cut. “That Old Black Hole” which has recently been used as a set opener led off the encore while “Fat Dog/Over Here, Other” and “Turning the Century” were also played. “Heart It Races,” the Architecture In Helsinki cover that Dr. Dog has transformed into a staple grooving closer ended the show bringing the conclusion to this stage of their tour. The road is long, but home is always Philadelphia for Dr. Dog, and this show was comfort food after a long ride. – Michael Colavita