Concert Review: Emo's 3/3/07

From Jason:

Damn, I’m lazy. It’s been six days since the What Made Milwaukee Famous and Dr. Dog show at Emo’s, and I’m just NOW sitting down to write about it (editor’s note: I’m even lazier, and it’s been three days since Jason gave me his review). Let me preface my opinion by mentioning that Dave and I were all hopped up and surly on Sparks (**The Official Malt Energy Beverage of Smarmy Hipster**), and we had to babysit a thirty-year-old who was more than a little hammered (he got cut off by the benevolent bartender and spent the rest of the show plotting violence against said bartender).

What does this have to do with the show? Shut up. WOW – Sparks DOES make me surly.

The reason this is relevant is that I was dealing with silly drunken aggression bullshit (not my own) while The Teeth were playing. Consequently, I felt as if they were stupid and sloppy. They came across as another post punk band without all that talent baggage. I’m sorry if you dig them, but I just could not get into their style.

Moving on…

Thankfully, Dr. Dog made their way to the stage and my inebriated friend made his way to find pizza (thus leaving us to enjoy the show). Prior to this show I was a Dr. Dog virgin. NO LONGER! They popped my music cherry with face-melting indie rock in the Cold War Kids vein, only more classic rock-y. Their set was energetic and well put together, and I was made a believer. Do your self a favor and get their album!

I have a confession to make. I love the fact that Michael Kincaid from What Made Milwaukee Famous has adopted the hobo look. The reason is threefold. The first (and perhaps most important) is the fact that prior to the beard/long hair/no shower thing my wife had a HUGE crush on him. Now — not so much. Advantage me. The next is that I have an unhealthy love of beards. This stems from the fact that I am unable to grow a decent one (it comes in patchy). The third reason is, let’s face it: the hobo look is never uncool. So there you have it… I support it, Michael — FUCK SCISSORS/SHOWERS!!!!!!!!!

As for their set… This was simply the best WMMF show that I have seen in two years. They played five new songs, most of their old ones (except for Next to Him, which I did not miss, even a little), and rocked the faces off the Emo’s crowd. Their show was energetic, and seemed to flow perfectly from one song to the next. I’m not sure if this was the Barsuk influence or simply the fact that they were playing in front of a hometown crowd, but they really seemed to connect with the audience (unlike their performance at ACL Fest, where they seemed like they were sleepwalking through the set). If you are in the Midwest, there is no reason why you should miss seeing this band. They are at the top of their game.