Dr. Dog

If you are ever feeling down in the dumps you can always rely on Dr. Dog to prescribe you their joyful dosage of upbeat, soulful music to get your spirits up.
Hailing from the Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania seems out of place for a band that sounds so relaxed and mellow. Dr. Dog often garners comparisons to such bands as the Beach Boys by their incorporation of melodic harmonies that are beautifully arranged. There are times in Dr. Dog’s performance when they play with a lot of soul and energy, but most often their vibe is laid back, and their appearance enhances this vibe by most of the band members sporting sunglasses. The band seem like down to earth people just wanting to play music for the people. Their sound mesmerizes the audience allowing them to forget about all their worries and just enjoy the music. The band is also able to maintain a diverse sound with the two main songwriters, Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman, switching back and forth on lead vocals performing the songs they have written. Not only does Dr. Dog use rich vocal harmonies with contributions from all band members, but they also harmonize their guitars by both guitarists playing unique dueling riffs that form together to create ornate sounds of beauty. There are also many psychedelic elements to their performance with keyboards and synthesizers being run through phasers to produce waves of sonic noises that will enlighten your mind. Dr. Dog’s performance is tight live. Each member plays in perfect tempo with the rhythm, knowing just what and when to play, but they are never afraid to go off course and surprise the audience with an improvised line. Dr. Dog are now at a point in their career where they have a large catalogue of great and diverse tunes they can put on their setlist, and they manage to perform these songs in a carefree way that makes the audience forget about everything except the enjoyment of the music surrounding them.

Just after 10pm, Dr Dog took the stage and went right into some of their more up tempo numbers with "Distant Light" and "Phenomenon." These were followed up by a smooth cover of "Heart it Races," originally recorded by Architecture in Helsinki.

Leaman took the spot at center stage but he is by no means the only lead singer. Guitarists Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy mainly sung together for about 50% of the tunes on the night. McMicken is actually childhood best friends with Leaman and he sings some of the groups best known songs.

Dr. Dog had the sold out crowd loving it as they played material from all of their 8 albums. Toby slowed things down at times, including a captivating "Too Weak to Ramble," but there was no point where the show ever was boring. For every slower tune, the next was an attention grabbing comeback.

The strongest portion of the evening came towards the end of the set, with heavyweights "Shadow People," "These Days" and "Lonesome" all closing out the performance. If there's any Dr. Dog song that casual music fans would recognize, it's "Shadow People." The familiar opening lines turned the 9:30 Club into what seemed like a drunk group karaoke session.

My favorite part of the night was the encore, as the guys came back out on stage with even more energy to rip through four of their best tunes. The final of the night was quirky closer "That Old Black Hole," where Dr Dog shows off their unique lyric ability. I'm pretty sure they're the only band I know that would rhyme pillow with armadillo.

Overall, it was excellent to see Dr. Dog and and just as cool to cross 9:30 off the music venue bucket list. I'd definitely come back for another show here.

Saw Dr. Dog at Brooklyn Steel last night. Awesome venue, not too large and not too small. Felt intimate yet spacious. Dr. Dog has become one of my new favorite bands and even more so now that I've seen them live. They are FANTASTIC live. I highly recommend seeing them. They sound even better in person. They played all of the favorites from their albums and played a great fluid show. It flowed impeccably and I left feeling totally elated and satisfied with the concert. I'll def be seeing them again. No question. Their vocal and instrumental talents are amazing, their sound is soulful, passionate and so pleasant to listen to. DR. DOG DR. DOG DR. DOG!!!!

I just wish they talked more to the audience instead of just going from one song to the next, it felt kinda cold. They were excellent performers and sound exactly the same. The concert I went to was in Omaha at a pretty small venue and I saw them after the show and the drummer was kind of rude to me, which made me upset cause I went out to see them play, paid for a ticket and everything and the band showed their gratitude by being rude. Overall their music is good, just let down by them as people.

Awesome show. Slow build up, but last main set song and 4 encore songs were sick. Toby is insanely awesome and puts his all in and was soaked in sweat midway through the show. Scott was cool and collected as always.

St Andrews is a sick venue but the security process is over the top and unnecessary. I got groped on the way in.

Overall awesome stuff. My biggest ask of Dr. Dog is to have a gig poster for that show at the merchandise table more often.

They sounded good, but their song choices were questionable. The crowd was not very responsive for most of the set, because they seemed to be playing a lot of slower songs that people didn't know. Would probably see again, in the hopes of a better set list, but this one was somewhat disappointing.

One of the best concerts I've ever been to! As usual, the sound at the glass house was fantastic. I could hear every note and every voice distinctly and that's always great. Dr. Dog played with great energy and enthusiasm and even accepted requests for songs at the end! Awesome awesome!

This was our first Dr. Dog show. Amazing energy - such a great band to see live! If you ever get the chance, make sure you take the opportunity to see this great group. Very talented individuals with a feel-good sound. I hope they play at Red Rocks someday. :)

As a fan you always wonder how the group will sound live in concert. I was blown away by their sound though, it was as if I was listening to the album at times. The acoustics of this venue isn’t the best but overall I had a great time.

My first concert ever, and they did not disappoint! They’re music is so much better when you hear them live! The energy they give off is absolutely impressive, if you have the chance to see them and enjoy their music, do it!