If there’s one thing that can be said about Dr. Dog, it’s that they really know how to put on a live show.  Though their recorded music can sometimes seem a bit middle-of-the-road, their live concerts are top-notch.  The band sounds looser and grittier, more passionate and well, like they’re having fun!

Seeming to feed off of the great energy emanating from the audience, Dr. Dog played an impressive show at Terminal 5 this past Friday February 18^th.  Sampling mostly from their three previous albums, Shame, Shame, We All Belong, and Fate, the band powered through a twenty-song setlist, taking few breaks between songs.  Though I usually find a little audience interaction and conversation to be welcome, this show didn’t seem terribly lacking without it.

“Heart It Races,” a song that was originally released by Dr. Dog, but on an Architecture in Helsinki album, came out as a clear audience (and personal) favorite.  The loose, cool grooves and psych vibes sounded fantastic live and summed up the evening nicely, as they finished the main section of their set list, before encores.  “Shadow People,” for which they just made a music video, also resounded well with the audience and elicited much singing along.  The slow, indulgent song “The Beach,” though received only tepidly by the audience, sounded incredibly soulful and gritty.  Other highlights included “The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer,” “The Breeze” and “Stranger,” the concert opener.