Dr. Dog Unleashes a Fun, Foot Stomping Evening at Mass MoCA
Winterpills Opens for the Philadelphia Indie Group
By: Caleb Hiliadis - Oct 19, 2009
Northampton's Winterpills and West Philadelphia's Dr. Dog transformed the Hunter Center at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art into an eerie dungeon of post-hippie apocalyptic proportions, one that looked more like a MoCA exhibition than their usual minimalist-based stage setup. People of all ages sat together on the bare floor, testing cameras and using their iPhones. Others spun and danced around in the brilliantly empty space, grooving to the house music and the lack of crowding. But this environment soon changed as an eager audience slowly filled the Hunter Center to the walls, and the house lights went down.
The evening of upbeat and eclectic rock tunes started slowly with Winterpills' gentle ballads which incorporated minimal percussion with the beautifully matched, vocal nuances of Flora Reed and Philip Price. Their harmonies are rooted in familiar New England folk traditions. Their set gained momentum and flavor as each member continually added richer sounds to the mix, gently lifting the crowd into motion, infusing them with a feeling of celebration and rejoicing. That's what it's all about, right?
Front man Philip Price led the group through their hoops while singing, playing the keys, and tapping his tambourine to the smooth rhythmic beats supplied by Brian Akey and Dave Hower. All of this was subtly accented by Flora Reed on the acoustic guitar.
Guitarist, Dennis Crommett, bravely struggled through the requested song "July" despite a painful, ice related, finger injury he experienced earlier in the day. He plucked through the song with only the slightest outward signs of problems even as provided a brief anecdotal aside explaining his condition. The show must go on, they say, and it did.
They continued the set with a few more originals, to warm applause, but their moment in the spotlight left us wanting something more, something completely upbeat, and danceable. Not to worry. It was on its way.
Soon "Mr. Dr. Dog" was announced and the quintet took over the stage. They strutted out sporting tight pants, immense chops, and one coonskin hat, worn by rhythm guitarist, Frank McElroy. He was certainly the most original and peppiest member of the crew, frolicking about, eyes shrouded with shades, and a stern, sweaty face.
Dr. Dog has been building popular momentum for a decade, slowly gaining commercial recognition. It has been a part of the now popular realm of semi-psychedelic, folk rock. However, their live performance is lacking one crucial element to gain even more avid and thoughtful followers: experimentation. As the stagehand set the bands pedal board panels up, each one's control knobs were taped down and fixed in place where they remained without change throughout the set.
Even without the experimental feel of, say, Animal Collective, the group did put some great surprises on the table. During Scott McMicken's solo piece, interrupted by the snare that was left on, three members came out with animal headpieces and happily began to bob and sway, ecstatic when the song ended and they were free at last.
They ended with a most fruitful bow by releasing a barrel of oranges and bananas on a surprised audience as they spoke about the complexities of being a performer in the post-industrial world.
Dr. Dog has produced four studio albums and now belongs to ANTI- records, sister company of Epitaph. ANTI- promotes artists ranging widely from Michael Franti to Man Man to The Locust.
Bassist Toby Leaman feels that they are freer to do what they really want in the studio compared to a live performance. "We're five dudes but we'll do a song that requires 20 dudes. Or just one," stated Leaman in a recent phone conversation with writer Jeremy Goodwin. In his defense about live presentation he says, "There's stuffÂ…we can't physically do. We're not octopuses."
While not multiple limbed, Dr. Dog did a phenomenal job of keeping up with their complex melodic sweeps and intricate flow, while stomping about the stage in a synchronized manner, like excited dinosaurs destroying a modern Japanese city while playing some of the happiest music I've ever heard.
Winterpills set the enlightened mood and the rest of the evening was a full-blown orgasm of colors, and Beatle-like 7th chord progressions. There was but one fleeting glimpse of Dog's supposed Beach Boys influence which arrived when the three vocalists delicately articulated a choir-like a capella. This was then disregarded entirely by Leaman's distorted bass lines. Overall, it was a win-win situation and a great end to a day which also included the incredible colors of North Adam's eclectic art on display for its fifth annual Open Studios event.
On a similar wavelength, next month MoCA will be hosting the trio Medeski, Martin and Wood on November 12. Like the Dr. Dog concert, it will be in the Standing Room Only configuration. MMW plays a mixture of funky jazz and smooth electronica that Rolling Stone proclaims to be "one of the most inventive jam bands of the '90s, the rare act that could entertain Phishheads one night and a fringe-jazz crowd the next." It is a show that can't miss and, having sold out last year in a blizzard, the tickets are sure to be going fast.
http://www.massmoca.org/