Mike Doughty

Every other person these days appears to be a singer/songwriter, but Mike Doughty takes it to the next level, with his creation of alternative and indie rock tracks, and also his endeavours as an author. As a poetry graduate, Doughty’s lyrics were the thing that first brought me to his music, and his creative and genuine narratives are one of the features that really set his music apart from any other singer/songwriter out there.
Seeing a solo performer, its’ great when they can support themselves on an instrument of their own, as well as having a band, and Mike’s incredible guitar skills blew me away as soon as he started picking the melody to Sunshine. His storytelling through his facial expressions and poignant pauses held the room in silence as he unfolded the narrative to us.
He played through several of his newer tracks, as well as revisiting some work from the early 00’s. He referred to Soul Coughing only in passing, but with a positive attitude, which was great, as their music is also fantastic, and he even sang a track from the crowd-funded album of all their old hits.

Mike Doughty is and American singer-songwriter. He is also the founder of the band Soul Coughing which was released in the 1990’s. He is one of those singer-songwriters that when he performs, you hear every single little pain in his voice, because he is just so sincere when he since these songs about love loss and addiction. There are some especially adult themes throughout. He performs tonight with a band behind him, playing a Gibson hollow bodied guitar complete with a Bigsby tremolo arm. His band makes a fantastic sound of the sort of soft rock variety. “Tremendous Brunettes” opens the set in great form, with songs such as “Your Misfortune” and “Grey Ghost” keeping this congregation happy this evening, who hang onto every single hook that he sings and every single hook that he has written. It is as though these songs that he has written which are all made up of an array of hooks, can be sang, from all sorts of angles.

If you get the chance to see Mike Doughty in concert, DO IT! He is funny, funky, and completely worth the time and money. For this concert it was just him and a cello player, and it was a musical delight. Doughty's voice is an instrument in itself, with his tone and syncopation drawing constant attention.
Be careful if you go to his concert to hang out and chat with friends. He doesn't like that and will call you out, which those of us who want to hear the music really appreciate. It was pretty funny for him to give people permission to tell the talkers to shut the %#$@ up.
My only criticism was that it was too short! The set was only a little over an hour and it flew by. I wish he had played for another hour :)

The last time I saw Mike live was in 1998 (I can out-hipster you all). Whilst he's a little older, likes his woolly jumpers a LOT more; he still has all that energy (though now from a different source), and presence, as ever. Crowd-pleasing banter ("I have 35 PHD's and you people are the sexiest people I've ever seen"), and a range of old and new material from Stellar Motel.. well.. this old man got a little wet-eyed during the set.
Did we mention Mike's band? He found a bunch of musicians from some local band called Wheatus and made them play instruments! Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Mike Doughty, Andrew 'Scrap' Livingston and the intimacy of Mississippi Studios is about as good as it gets. He and Scrap produce such great music and their banter has the joy of sincere friendship.
Their revisiting of 'Irresistible Bliss' was really compelling and I really enjoyed the visit. I suspect it was getting a little long in to the tooth for them, but hey it was their idea. ;)
The encore was his solo works and I am looking forward to his next tour to hear more of them! Maybe they'll bring the jar along?

Great show. Such a good album. I loved the venue, the sound was really good, and of course I love the band. The opening act was a trip and very entertaining. Having the Ghost come out later was a nice touch - kind of how you're taught to wrap things up by referring back to the beginning.

Great show! Touring this material 25 years later is such a great thing to do for long time fans. The on stage banter was great, also Super Bon Bon and Circles were played to open the show. I never miss Mike when he is in town, am eternally filled with gratitude for the experience.

Fabulous show. Mikey and the band sounded great and his performance was one of the best I have ever seen. Great showman, great swag and the music was super. Even if you have never heard of Mike or Soul Coughing, the live performance is incredibly worth it.

Mike Doughty's performance last night was truly soul changing. I am just so grateful for his music and his energy. Seeing him live made me appreciate his music that much more as I feel an emotional connection to the art he creates.

Doughty puts on a fantastic show, his opening band is basically his band shuffled around and both acts are full of entertainment. great crowd and Mike's music continues to impress and his banter and humour is off beat as expected.