Dr. Dog Put On Energetic Performance of New Songs and Fan Favorites in Austin (SHOW REVIEW)

Over the past decade and a half, Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog have been busy releasing albums every year or two and touring incessantly. 2016 saw both the release of The Psychedelic Swamp early in the year as well as a surprise online release of the mellow Abandoned Mansion. The former was a reimagining of the unreleased LP made by Dr. Dog co/singer/songwriters McMicken and Leaman, while the latter was an album recorded prior to The Psychedelic Swamp, yet shelved in favor of working on the experimental TPS. Last year found the members of Dr. Dog taking a well-deserved break where they concentrated on family life and what direction the band should head in. The band has resurfaced this year bringing their high energy show back on the road in support of their newest album Critical Equation.

The past five tours have found Dr. Dog playing at Austin’s iconic outdoor amphitheater at Stubb’s however, this time fans found themselves indoors at the slightly larger ACL Moody Theater. It seemed to those in attendance that the show had been turned up to “11,” both literally and figuratively. The decibel level seemed to match the bands unwavering energy on the stage. The set was predictably heavy on material from Critical Equation and each song sounded even better live than on the record. Though the album is full of great tracks, Dr. Dog picked the crème de la crème from the track list. Most already previous released as singles, songs like “Listening In”, “Heart Killer” and “Buzzing in the Light”, made impressive additions to their live set. The rest of the show was mostly made up of older fan favorites like “The Beach” and “Army of Ancients” from 2008’s Fate as well as “Shadow People” and “Jackie Wants a Black Eye” from 2010’s Shame, Shame. More recent hits like “Lonesome” and “That Old Black Hole” from 2012’s Be The Void had many in the crowd singing along. The highlight of the night for many was the addition of their excellent cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart it Races”, finding most in theater dancing and singing.

With such an incredible set list and energetic show, the only disappointment is that Dr. Dog was only playing one night in town. The last two times Dr. Dog stopped in Austin on tour they played two sold out nights back to back with drastically different sets. However, if Dr. Dog is back to their old ways, it should only be another year before fans get another chance to see them.

Dr. Dog Setlist ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX, USA 2018, Critical Equation

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter