Double dog dare you

Dr. Dog breezed into town last weekend to play back-to-back nights at the Paradise Rock Club, an annual tradition that has developed a large and loyal fan base in Boston. For the past two years, these Philadelphia enthusiasts for ’60s-era chamber-pop have played tremendously high energy, room-packing shows, and Saturday night’s performance kept the streak alive.

As the band took the stage, ushered in with a horn intro, they were greeted with cheers of excitement and applause. Dr. Dog’s psychedelic and classic rock influences ranging from The Beatles to the Band, the Grateful Dead and the Beach Boys all blend to build a soulful and bluesy groove on record. But live, the band explodes with a punk-rock energy centered on pure talent and charisma. This is the second time Dr. Dog has come to the Paradise in support of 2010s Shame, Shame (Anti), their sixth studio recording, which topped College Music Journal’s list of Top 10 College Radio Albums for 2010, and put them in the national eye. So it was no surprise when they were greeted with cheers of excitement from a sold-out crowd Saturday night.

Since forming in 2001, Dr. Dog has built their career around lo-fi recording techniques, harmony-laden psychedelia and the duel vocals of lead singers Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken. In 2002, their second album,Toothbrush (self released), caught the attention of Jim James. And after touring with My Morning Jacket in 2004, Dr. Dog released two classic albums, We All Belong and Fate (Park the Van), which filled out the band’s sound with greater variety of instruments, layering and new recording equipment. The successes of their most recent albums have earned them appearances at Bonnaroo in 2010 and Coachella in 2009.

Ushered in with a horn section introduction, Dr. Dog began with “I Only Wear Blue,” a steady and slowly building track driven by Leaman’s bass that culminates in a distorted and wandering guitar solo from McMicken. The stage design exhibited the band’s fondness for kaleidoscopic colors with a multi-pictured, stained glass backdrop and matching chandelier overhead. Next came “The Ark,” a soulful display of Leaman’s deep and gritty vocals, which transitioned to McMicken’s higher pitched and dreamy voice on “The Breeze.” The dynamic between McMicken and Leaman’s complimentary singing styles, as well as their roles as guitarist and bassist, respectively, create a dynamic that you can’t help but compare to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And backed with the immense talents of rhythm guitarist Frank McElroy, keyboardist Zach Miller and drummer Eric Slick, the band’s baroque pop does take on a distinctly Beatles quality.

The majority of the set consisted of tracks from Shame, Shame and 2008’s Fate, with occasional appearances from earlier material, such as epic sing-alongs “Worst Trip” and “The Way The Lazy Do” from We All Belong (Park the Van), and a new song “Take Me Into Town.” Another standout was a cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart It Races.” The encore consisted of some of Dr. Dog’s strongest performances of the night, with synchronized guitar parts on “My Friend,” a song divided into two distinct parts, starting with Leaman’s lead vocal and shifting to McMicken’s. And riding the enormous amount of energy built on the ending chorus of “My Friend,” Dr. Dog finished strong on the fan favorite sing-along of “Jackie Wants A Black Eye,” during which the members of the opening band, The Head and the Heart, danced onstage. By the show’s end, the crowd was left in an exhausted and ecstatic state cheering Dr. Dog’s name. Some of Dr. Dog’s most famous songs would have been nice additions to the set list, such as “Shame, Shame” and the fantastic “Where’d All The Time Go?,” but it’s the mark of a great live band to leave the crowd wanting more. And after all, the next night, Dr. Dog would be ready to do it all over again.