The Dr. Will See You, Now

A low murmur of excitement hung in the air at the Paradise Rock Club, Tuesday night, as the growing crowd awaited their canine friends to take the stage. With the addition of each Dr. Dog disciple, the murmur swelled to a full roar and chants of “Doc-tor Dog! Doc-tor Dog!” sporadically erupted as stage-hands shrouded in black shuffled across the stage. Though the Philadelphia-based quintet has remained quietly below the mainstream’s radar, the crowd’s pre-show energy suggested that this is a band ready to make some noise. It’s no surprise that Dr. Dog can pack a room at the Paradise—their newest release, Shame, Shame, recently topped the College Music Journal’s list of Top 10 College Radio Albums—and Boston is the college-town, after all.

Opening the night were idiosyncratic alt-country rockers, Deer Tick, out of Providence, RI. Frontman John McCauley swaggered on-stage decked out in a red “I’m Not Santa Claus, but you can sit on my lap anyway…” t-shirt, white hipster sunglasses, and a black Boston Red Sox hat—“Just for you, Boston.” McCauley’s gritty drawl sounds like the result of a life lived at the bottom of a barrel of Tennessee whiskey smoking three packs of Marlboro Reds a day. His semi-Southern persona was underlined by the occasional glint of his sliver tooth in the stage light. Deer Tick played an hour-plus set featuring songs from their first two albums, War Elephant and Born on Flag Day, as well as new releases from their upcoming The Black Dirt Sessions.

Deer Tick are far from unknown as illustrated by the crowd’s cheers and sing-alongs throughout the set. Standout tracks included a slowed down rendition of “Ashamed,” which traded acoustic sensibility for arena rock appeal, culminating in show-stopping guitar solo that could have easily been the work of Eddie Van Halen. During “These Old Shoes,” McCauley hilarious pointed to bassist Christopher Dale Ryan and guitarist Ian O’Neil (formerly of Titus Andronicus) while crooning about surviving a plane crash with a “priest and a clown” before shouting, “it was a no-go for this hobo!” O’Neil’s steady vocals complimented McCauley’s coarse voice while his rhythmic guitar often broke into face-melting erratic riffs. Their set ended with an extended drum solo from Dennis Ryan reminiscent of John Bonham’s “Four Sticks.” Expect great things from these guys.

On to the main attraction. Dr. Dog’s neon-orange tape lined instruments glowed in the darkness of the stage as the band jumped into the swirling rhythms of “Stranger,” a song showcasing their ability to match themes of uncertainty with upbeat melodies. Though Dr. Dog’s recordings portray baroque pop sensibilities, their live performance highlighted an explosive yet subtle punk-rock side. Bassist Toby Leaman and lead guitarist Scott McMicken traded lead vocal duties throughout the set creating something of a Lennon-McCartney dynamic one can’t help but draw from the band’s established 60s pop sound. Additionally, guitarist Frank McElroy’s commanding rhythms played perfectly off of McMicken’s bending guitar while Zach Miller’s and Eric Slick’s consistently inventive piano and drum work drove the engine of the band.

The set focused primarily on tracks from 2008’s Fate and the recently released Shame, Shame, though songs from We All Belong periodically found their way into the set. Perhaps the greatest sing-along response from the crowd came during “The Old Days” as McMicken sang the chorus while the stage lights pulsed along to the beat:

Down, down, down,

Moon gonna fall down.

Thump, thump, thump,

House gonna fall down.

Chop, chop, chop,

Tree gonna fall down.

Down, down, down,

Down to the bottom.

Songwriting is paramount to Dr. Dog and each new song established an entirely different atmosphere in the tiny Paradise club—from down-home country during “Station” to the finely-tuned energy of “Where’d All the Time Go?” Leaman and McMicken danced back and forth across the stage as McElroy—towering in height over the rest of the band—bounced along with his guitar. Lead vocals aside, the band’s ability to harmonize in the old 60s pop “ooh-wop-bop” fashion succeeds in a paradox of complex simplicity that many other bands simply cannot match. The backing harmonies established an addictive groove that members of the crowd kept singing even after the song had finished. After an hour and a half set that left the crowd begging for more, the band returned for a three song encore that included the autobiographic “Jackie Wants a Black Eye” that featured McMicken’s only acoustic work of the night. By the night’s end, Dr. Dog had left the audience exhausted, glowing, and ready to do it all again.

-Steve Church

Interview with Frank McElroy of Dr. Dog

1. Each of you has a nickname beginning with the letter T—Taxi, Teach, Text, Tables, and you’re Thanks. What’s their significance to the band?

They’re not all that significant. It’s just a letter—like a lot of things in Dr. Dog—picked out of thin air. The significance is added to it by the fact that we decided that you needed a “T” name to be in Dr. Dog. It’s setting a feeling that we’re all in it as a team. I mean it really could’ve been any letter, but it was T. There’s no real meaning.

2. When I first heard the band’s name I assumed you guys were a rapper—somewhere between Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Where did the name Dr. Dog come from?

It’s another kind of chance occurrence. There’s not a really good story. One time Toby (Leaman) and Scott (McMicken) were together and Scott had a drawing and crossed out the A and it said Dr. Wing. Drawing with the A crossed out says Dr. Wing. And I think Scott suggested that as a band name. Then Toby said, “How about Dr. Dog?”

3. Who would you say are some of your biggest musical influences and what were you listening to while recording Shame, Shame?

We worked on Shame, Shame so much that I personally didn’t listen to much other music. You get so deep into the process because you’re working on it like 18 hours a day—pretty much every waking moment. You should check out a guy named R. Stevie Moore. He’s had a big influence on Dr. Dog because he’s like the father, grandfather, or forefather of do-it-yourself recording. He’s recorded hundreds of albums in his basement and played all the instruments and he’s out of New Jersey.

4. For the new album, you guys switched labels from Park the Van to Anti-Records and left your home studio in Philadelphia and recorded in New York for the first time. What prompted you to change labels and go in that direction?

We had kind of grown with Park the Van with each record. We were their first release and had introduced them to a few other Philadelphia bands. We got to a point where just the logistics of all of the work that goes into after you’ve made an album—promoting it and pushing it out there—and we kind of moved beyond their reach. So it was kind of a mutual recognition that we needed someone with a broader stretch to push the album.

5. Are there any other acts you would like to work or perform with?

We could do something cool with the Wu-Tang Clan. That would be up there.

6. What’s the dynamic like between Dr. Dog and Deer Tick?

Well, we’re on the whole tour with them. I didn’t know them so much before the tour but usually with most bands we get along pretty well. We get pretty close pretty fast and Deer Tick is no exception. I think they’re great. They work really well with us on this tour because people in the crowds tend to know their songs and get excited to see them. It seems like the crowd is more familiar with them than smaller opening bands. You know, it’s a toss-up because you want to introduce people to new music that you like but in the case of Deer Tick everyone already seems to be hip to them and really enjoy them so it’s great.

7. Have you ever thought about doing a take-away show—sort of like an impromptu recording on the street—like a lot of bands have been doing on La Blogotheque?

Walking around and singing? I’d love to do that. It sounds cool. I haven’t heard of that blog, though. We did a similar thing in California. Some kids came up to us after a show and asked to film us walking down the street singing a song. So I guess we’ve already done it. Youtube Dr. Dog California. It’s a black and white video. It’s one of my favorite.

8. You used to work on The David Letterman Show and then Dr. Dog played there a few years later. What was it like to go from working there behind the scenes to being featured on the show?

I got to see all my old friends. It was an honor and I was real excited. It was surreal. Working there was surreal and then playing there was even more surreal. It was a weird time to leave because it’s my favorite show but Dr. Dog was my favorite band—so it was strange.

9. What’s the next step for Dr. Dog?

We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re going to play live shows, we’re going to record albums, and we’re playing a lot of festivals this summer.

Thanks, Frank,

Steve Church and Gillian Zwengler