Dr. Dog at 3rd and Lindsley
Photo by Steve Cross.
Check out the slideshow at nashvillescene.com.
The Spin was there, and we'll have a complete reckoning in this week's dead tree edition of Cream, but a local correspondent turned in this dispatch from the Dr. Dog show last night at 3rd and Lindsley:
Unlike your typical sold-out-show crowd—trickling in slow but sure up to the main event—the audience at Sunday's Dr. Dog concert at 3rd and Lindsley turned out well before the headliner took the stage. By the time second act Delta Spirit strode out, it looked like a full house: the lucky comfortable around tables on the floor while the rest hugged wall space.
San Diego-based Delta Spirit, probably still squinting from the bright lights of a Late Night with Conan O'Brien appearance last Thursday, hit the stage with songs from their debut full-length, Ode to Sunshine. It was a split set that had us manic: Half the songs were a lukewarm run of nasally and distortion-heavy Highway 61 Revisited-like rockers (complete with harmonica), but when they dropped the Dylanesque trappings and lead singer Matthew Vasquez went where his impressive wail would take him, the band offered an original brand of Americana not afraid of showing a hint of swagger or outright punk shrieking. The set's highlight was the aptly titled "Trashcan," a song driven by the best slapping beat human hands can contrive from the lid of a garbage receptacle.
Philadelphia's Dr. Dog added bark to their retro-rock bag of tricks, putting some muscle on the airy psychedelia of their records. Where their guitars are willowy on tape, these crunched; basslines that once bounced, throbbed; vocals that on album channel John Lennon were swapped for a punch-drunk Jeff Tweedy. Plus, the set showcased the most whistling guitar harmonies we've seen since the arena reign of Thin Lizzy. But Dr.'s strength has always been in the unpredictability of their songs. There's no guarantee these tunes will finish the same way they start: they change tempo, abandon melodies, become new songs altogether. Case in point on Sunday: the new tune "The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer," which upsets the pop flow of its first two minutes with a bridge, then speeds up into a new melody altogether for the finish. Similarly, "Ain't it Strange" sounds like someone up and dropped a doo-wop "la-la-la" scored for three voices into the middle of a Rubber Soul track. This is a band unafraid of taking creative turns, and the added punch of their live show only made these motley pop songs all the more impressive. —Kyle Swenson
Related: There's one thing in particular about the show that annoyed yewknee.
Comments
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Posted 09/08/2008 at 02:06:11 PMHoly crap I totally agree.
Posted 09/08/2008 at 02:32:43 PMWorst venue experience I've EVER had in Nashville.
I bought my tickets months ago, have been pumped to go to the show since the purchase.
Had an absolute horrible time, spent the entire night moving from one crappily blocked view to another.
The waitresses were rude and even mean at times.
I've got the bruises on my rib cage to prove it.
The dude at the door wouldnt let us even keep our ticket stubs, which is the whole reason I bought actual tickets in the first place (usually just go the will call route).
Dr. Dog was fantastic, from what I can tell of the show that is hah.
And Delta Spirit for that matter.
I hope that these bands will return to Nashville and play a better venue, so I can block this night from my memory.
Ended up being so mad that we left early to sit in my car and listen to Lightning 100.
Damn couldve saved the $20 and done that in the first place....
3rd & Lindsley should not have been allowed to sell that many tickets. I will NEVER go back...
Greedy bastards
That's a shame...because Dr. Dog's schedule is so booked throughout Europe, the Netherlands, etc., and they are now getting so big, that they will never be able to play small venues like that, again. Then, everyone will be bitching about that. In our neck of the woods, the tickets are sold out in a day and you could Never get to see them in a place with tables and chairs.
Posted 09/09/2008 at 04:01:56 AMproblem with 3rd is that the sell way more tickets than their are chairs and while that might be okay, they definitely overdo it a bit. i've seen several shows there where the waitresses really don't have any room to maneuver at all. if they took the tables and chairs out of there during the show, it would allow for a lot more people...and it would make it easier to deal with the crowd size.
Posted 09/09/2008 at 12:03:25 PMDr. Dog will be back to Nashville and they'll play a proper venue next time. It may be awhile, possibly not until their next tour but the band is well aware of the support they have in Nashville, which was one of the first markets that really supported them in the south.
I believe Bruton tried to get them for the Mercy but the band's management was swayed by the WRLT simulcast - i.e. getting the band on the radio and sometimes Lightning 100 will add an act to their playlist if David Hall is impressed with their show. So it was a play for radio exposure. Without the simulcast, Dr. Dog never would've played at 3rd & Lindsley, which goes for many of the acts who play there on Sunday nights.
I don't love the venue, but for the right act it can be a pleasant experience to have "dinner and a show". it's different from other clubs in town that's for sure. But I definitely would've preferred to see the 'Dog at a proper rock club. fantastic show though!
Posted 09/11/2008 at 01:42:54 PM