Band’s live show all about the music

The lights flashed as the members of Dr. Dog stepped onto the stage at The Wiltern, casting them in orange, red, purple, blue and green lights. As they walked out, clad in sunglasses and goofy-looking orange beanies, they wasted no time onstage before setting up and whipping out their first dizzyingly energetic jam.

Dr. Dog might be acoustic-driven indie pop, but there was no doubt about it: these boys came to rock ‘n’ roll. The crowd at The Wiltern on Friday night responded with enthusiasm as loud and joyous as the music itself.

Performing among a large crowd of music lovers, Dr. Dog gave the crowd its money’s worth — if not more — for doing one thing correctly: providing an entertaining show. Waiting barely seconds between each song, Dr. Dog catapulted the audience into each number with its full force.

Save for the occasional declaration of “This is a new song we’ve got for you tonight,” the show was mainly talk-free. The band seemed to know that concertgoers like seeing tight, well-rehearsed musical numbers — not a mess of comedic attempts and endless talking. And tight, well-rehearsed numbers were exactly what the band members delivered.

Although the band’s albums are filled with harmonies reminiscent of the Beatles and old-timey piano chords, Dr. Dog’s ability to play a show throbbing with sound is also just as strong, and its live performances are something to see.

For those who have only heard the band’s albums, the sheer power of its shows might be shocking compared to the upbeat, poppy sounds on the records. Still, somehow it works onstage and even meshes the two sides of the band together.

Dr. Dog’s mix of rock ‘n’ roll and indie pop is even exemplified in the styles of its two lead singers — Scott McMicken’s voice is gruff and strong and Toby Leaman is more of a Vampire Weekend-inspired artist, taking vocal cues from lighter pop styles. When the two come together, it’s the perfect combination of everything that Dr. Dog seems to do right: the perfect middle ground is reached between bluesy rock ’n’ roll and quirky, psychedelic indie pop.

Though McMicken and Leaman play off of each other’s voices, the blending of styles is also seen in the very music itself. Dr. Dog’s melodies are harmonic and carefree, yet the band is able to achieve rock-your-socks-off status. Everything about them is light, funky and fun, but they do it with an attitude that forces their listeners to rock hard.

And this mix between pop and rock, light and heavy, is exactly what Dr. Dog supplied to its grateful audience at The Wiltern.

Although songs such as “The Rabbit, The Bat & The Reindeer” were joyous and performed with vigor and excitement, even the more serious “The Ark” was passionate and alive despite is calmer demeanor on the album.

The band played many songs from its newest album, Shame, Shame, which has the same 1970s style as its other albums such as We All Belong and Fate, but with what seems to be an even peppier attitude.

With Shame, Shame, it appeared as if Dr. Dog was wisely focusing its melodies and pop-rock sound; its Wiltern show only served to lend credence to that theory. Unlike so many bands that sound excellent in the studio, but falter onstage, Dr. Dog’s appearance at The Wiltern might have even outshone its latest studio sound.

Classics like “We All Belong” and newer songs like “Shadow People” were equally wonderful, and the crowd seemed to cheer for new Dr. Dog even more than it did for its original hit “Worst Trip.”

Although the band didn’t rely on flashy aesthetics and crazy costumes, there was something downright cool about the look of Dr. Dog’s performance: one guitar, covered in different colors of painted spots, glowed underneath ultraviolet rays while multicolored lights showed these musicians off to the crowd. The band members didn’t dress up, but they also didn’t dress down. Despite their cool sunglasses and funny-looking hats, they made it clear that this night was all about the music and not some extravagant visual performance.

The two opening bands — Here We Go Magic and Good Old War — were musically interesting and also put on a great show, but there is something refreshing about seeing a band that can create such amazing sounds in front of an audience, sounds that are even stronger and more passionate than the ones they had all the time in the studio to perfect.

Dr. Dog’s live performance was vibrant and filled with a love for music so many musicians forget about when onstage. It was about melody, energy and passion. And at a live concert, it seems as if one couldn’t ask for anything more.