In A Basement With the Cassavettes and Dr. Dog (Is A Good Place To Be), 5.24.08
I think it’s fitting I don’t have any pictures of the Dr. Dog and Cassavettes show at John Harvard’s last Saturday. I couldn’t see the band. The brew house was flooded with fans and given the fact there was no stage I’d guess that most people suffered from an obstructed view like I did. It was a reminder that there are two primary reasons we (the royal we, dude) all go see music played live: (1) music (2) community.
Take a moment to contemplate the stunning coordination of the human body. We are composed of atoms (and maybe they’re composed of something smaller) that work in unison to create small chemical structures that make chemicals and organelles, that create cells, that in turn work together to create unified tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms. Independently functioning matter that has a sole purpose yet without one another would not complete that function - the sum is greater than the parts. And a concert can work in the same way. By the last song of the Dr. Dog set the crowd was moving in unison with common purpose and attitude. We weren’t filtering waste, or repairing transcription errors. We were doing something much simpler, yet at times just in important: aiding a communal uplift in spirit. Everyone was bending at the waste creating a collective inhale and exhale. The band’s music were the synapses sent through to each individual causing us to move and react like the diaphragm pushing the lungs to absorb air and release wastes.
We were a random collection of people enjoying the same moment. There were parents, young children playing air piano, people dancing on bar counters, and the typical youths (of which I am one) that makes a habit of being at shows. Dr. Dog the Cassavettes’ brand of bluegrass, blues, rock that gives modernity and a youthful whip to classic American music. Both bands play well and in a style that so often falls to the ills of stagnating jams, but instead of falling they both rise above with brief and noisy jams that invigorate the audience rather than boring them.
Dr. Dog’s upcoming Fate was highlighted during their set. Of course since the album has not been released the following is all outlandish speculation but there was a real sense that the newest disc has a Beatles influence to it - at least the McCartney side of things. Lyrics like, “There’s a hole in the roof/and the rain’s coming down” and pieces of songs that are reminiscent of the pre-Na Na Na crescendo in Hey Jude, as well as backing vocals that wistfully slide down the chromatic scale. Combined with Dr. Dog’s souther guitar blues and organ makes me pretty excited for Fate even if Dr. Dog has to date been unable to successfully capture their live spirit on tape.
Regardless, the word is community and music helps foster it.
♥
Tour dates to follow the jump. Cassavettes dates too.
Cassavettes Tour Date:
July 5 @ Paradise, with Girls, Guns And Glory, and the Teenage Prayers
Dr. Dog Tour Dates:
Jun 8 Wakarusa Lawrence, Kansas
Jun 14 WEQX presents 5th Annual River Street Festival Troy, New York
Jul 18 Club Cafe Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Jul 19 Chameleon Club Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Jul 23 Bowery Ballroom NY, New York
Jul 24 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Jul 26 Boulder Annual Music Festival - Rochester NY Rochester, New York
Jul 27 Forcastle Festival - The Riverfront Belvedere Louisville, Kentucky
Jul 29 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri
Jul 30 Bluebird St. Louis, Missouri
Jul 31 Radio Radio Indianapolis, Indiana
Aug 2 Lollapalooza - Grant Park Chicago, Illinois
Aug 4 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
Aug 5 The Basement Columnbus, Ohio
Aug 8 the El Rey Los Anegels, California
Sep 5 IOTA Club & Cafe Arlington, Virginia
Sep 6 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Sep 7 3rd and Lindsley Nashville, Tennessee
Sep 8 Bottle Tree Cafe Birmingham, Alabama
Sep 9 Thirsty Hippo Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Sep 11 Walter’s on Washington Houston, Texas
Sep 12 Lola’s Saloon Ft. Worth, Texas
Sep 13 The Parish Austin, Texas
Sep 16 Club Congress Tucson, Arizona
Sep 17 The Casbah San Diego, California
Sep 19 The Detroit Bar Costa Mesa, California
Sep 20 Cellar Door Visalia, California
Sep 21 Treasure Island Music Festival San Francisco, California
Sep 23 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon
Sep 24 Tractor Tavern Seattle, Washington
Sep 26 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, Utah
Sep 27 Hi - Dive Denver, Colorado
Sep 29 The Waiting Room Omaha, Nebraska
Sep 30 The Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
Oct 1 High Noon Saloon Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 2 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, Michigan
Oct 10 Middle East (downstairs) Cambridge, Massachusetts
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