Tampa Calling

The last time Dr. Dog played Tampa was Halloween ‘07 to a light crowd with only a few fans singing along. Though it was only a year-and-a-half ago, it was must have felt like a small lifetime for the Philly fivesome. Since then, the band has been on several “Best of” lists, put out a well-received album, ’08’s Fate, and eevn appeared on NPR a few times, too.

Just before midnight last night, Dr. Dog returned to the stage at Ybor City’s Crowbar and played to a packed house, tearing into “The Ark” first, following it up with an excellent rendition of “The Way the Lazy Do,” then filling the room  with warm melodies and three- and four-part harmonies as they performed almost all the tracks from Fate as well as a few cuts from 2005’s Easy Beat, like the grating “Fools Life.”

A guy in a dog costume replete with lab coat and stethoscope joined Dr. Dog for some dancing and clapping during “Oh No,” the the band closing the set shortly after with a haunting rendition of “The Beach” and “The Rabbit, The Bat and The Reindeer.” The crowd roused the band for a two-song encore, “Say Something” and “My Old Ways.” The show ended somewhere around 1 a.m.

Here’s the complete setlist: Read the rest of this entry »

This Friday, San Francisco’s murdergrass outfit, The Pine Box Boys, will make their triumphant return to the stage at Dave’s Aqua Lounge. The last time these guys came through town I partied a little too hard with my good buddies Beam and Ginger, and was unable to write a decent review of the show, which is a good sign I had one hell of a good time (and I did). The interplay of the band members as well as their faux-arguments even makes the between-song inner-band banter a complete riot.

You’re asking, what does the band sound like? You’re wondering, what exactly is murdergrass? Well, let’s say you put Old Crow Medicine Show and Those Poor Bastards in a blender. Now, if you were to puree them, you’d get one hell of a mess, but if that mess could somehow make music, that amalgam of Old Crow and TPB would be The Pine Box Boys. If Old Crow are Dr. Jekyll, then The Pine Box Boys are their Mr. Hyde. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know the standard classic mixtape love songs – “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton,” Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” “I Will Always Love You,” (Dolly or Whitney, you pick the version), “At Last,” by Etta James, most of the Beatles’ early catalog. But what about modern, 21st century love songs, i.e., those that came out after January 1, 2001?

Up until I started preparing this, I never really thought much about it, but surprisingly, I came up with a wealth of ideas, almost too many. The songs I thought up are not necessarily traditional ballads (though there are several), are not always romantic or saccharine or even very nice, do not always offer bold statements of devotion or everlasting ardor. But in each, the meaning is clear even if it isn’t always spelled out clearly.

“Fell in Love with a Girl,” The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
The song made stars of pasty, Detroit-based indie alt blues duo Jack and Meg White, both because it was nice and short and tasty raw, and because it has a really cool Lego video. Check it out, if you haven’t already seen it a few dozen times.

Read the rest of this entry »

A new weekly blogroll of what the Creative Loafing music team is listening to right now.

The Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
Straight up, uncompromising rock n’ roll. It’s filled to the brim with loud guitars, catchy tunes, and smart lyrics. The icing on the cake is the storyline that ties it all together: a Christian-based government runs the United States, oppressing its proletariat and a young couple on the run for their lives.
Recommended tracks: “Here’s Your Future” and “A Pillar of Salt”
–Gabe

Dr. Dog
We All Belong (2007)
Sure, their name sounds like some bad ’80s rapper, but don’t let that fool you. Dr. Dog borrows from the best elements of The Beatles, The Band and The Beach Boys — layered vocal harmonies, ear-catching melodies and quality songwriting — to create something of their own. They’ll be playing Crowbar Thursday, February 19.
Recommended track: “The Way the Lazy Do”
–B.Treotch Read the rest of this entry »