The unapologetically quirky: Dr. Dog at The Royale

“Are you sure this isn’t a hipster band? They feel hipster to me,” I heard a 40-year-old woman say to her teenage daughter.

At first glance, an outsider probably would have questioned what kind of performance was about to take place. Audience members ranged from middle-age parents with preteen children to flannel-clad college students to tough-looking 30-somethings, all eager to see indie-pop sensation Dr. Dog Friday night at the Royale. The only consistency among the crowd was the abundance of pompom-topped Dr. Dog beanies bobbing up and down to the music from the first note of the first song: “The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer” from the band’s 2008 album Fate.

Bass player Toby Leaman and lead guitarist Scott McMicken split lead vocals, but guitarist Frank McElroy, drummer Eric Slick and keyboard player Zach Miller each contributed to Dr. Dog’s characteristic harmonies. Meanwhile, Dmitri “Meatball” Manos stood behind an electronics board dubbed the “Meatball Palace” where he added 1960s-inspired psychedelic beats and distortions to the performance.

It seemed less as though the band were putting on a show and more as though they invited the audience into the cozy Philadelphia basement where they first recorded music together. A homemade Dr. Dog version of the American flag set the backdrop of the stage. Bright Jolly Rancher-esque lights illuminated the vintage speakers strewn almost haphazardly around the band. Even the instruments were casual and campy. Slick’s drums were written on in sloppy cursive, and McMicken (who shamelessly wore a Dr. Dog t-shirt) played a guitar covered in orange duct tape on which he had written “strum machine” in permanent marker.

The band was energetic, hopping up and down to the beat and engaging with the crowd. At one point, Leaman grabbed a phone from an audience member during the middle of a song and wailed the lyrics to the person on the other end.

Perhaps the biggest hit of the night was Dr. Dog’s infamous rock cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s electropop song, “Heart it Races.” Other highlights included the hit “Lonesome” off their most recent album, Be the Void, and a four-song encore during which fans enthusiastically shook the floor with their dancing.

While Dr. Dog does attract a following that could perhaps be considered hipster, the band itself doesn’t quite fit the mold. They’re unapologetically quirky and almost devoid of any trace of the irony that is characteristic of current hipster culture. Onstage and in their music, it doesn’t seem as though they’re trying to be anything — they’re simply being, and maybe that’s why so many different types of people could enjoy their performance.