Dr. Dog + Son Little
Detroit, Michigan (May 4, 2018) – There is something special when it comes to live music and Friday nights. I’m partial to thinking there is a little extra magic when it comes to Detroit, MI, but I have no doubt most people would say that about their city. Dr. Dog and Son Little undoubtedly found that magic at The Majestic Theatre tonight when they brought the Critical Equation Tour to the D!
Son Little started a night off with his beautifully smooth, some may even say, sexy voice. Those unfamiliar with his music will find it easy to get lost in the soul filled rhythm and blues sounds with a bit of rasp to his voice and tracks that can make you feel a little less in 2018 and little more in 1978. That’s some kind of magic in its own right, isn’t it? I’m thinking Son Little must know a thing or two about their own David Coperfield-ien abilities as they grooved into “Blue Magic (Waikiki)” off of their latest album, “New Magic,” released last September. Son Little’s sound had everyone grooving, his delightfully catchy hooks and uplifting sounds are not something you should miss out on.
Dr. Dog didn’t waste a single second after they took the stage and jumping right into something upbeat and high energy while still maintaining their signature psych rock with “Heart Killer” off of their newest album, “Critical Equation,” released on April 27 of this year. A few songs later we were met with the indie rock sound that I found myself familiar with when I first really discovered Dr. Dog in “Where’d All The Time Go?”
Midway through the set, Dr. Dog slowed things down some with the lead track from Critical Equation, “Listening In.” With its darker and more methodical sounding beats and lyrics the song begs and pleads for your attention, not to say that it brought down the mood, but it was something that seemingly transfixed the crowd. More of the classic psych and indie rock sounds came out as they played their set with songs like “The Breeze,” “Coming Out of the Darkness,” and “That Old Black Hole.” Things slowed down just a bit again prior to the encore as they closed out their set with “Abandoned Mansion,” a song with stringy guitar riffs and long sung vocals, a great way to walk off the stage.
The crowd chanted louder and louder, screams for “one more song!” were unrelenting. When it comes to hardcore fans, Dr. Dog has some of the best I’ve ever seen. The group took the stage once more, playing a 3 song encore that culminated with perhaps their most well-known song, “Heart It Races.” Something I can say I’ve wanted to hear live for years myself. Dr. Dog played a killer set and as their sound evolved there is always something distinctly magical about it. It’s not too often a band has the staying power that Dr. Dog has moved towards their 20th year of swooning fans, and their fans showed exactly why they won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
