Dog has been laying low since coming off of a giant tour with up and comers Buried Beds and Seattle’s The Head and the Heart. Despite working on a new album and getting ready for the upcoming summer festivals and west coast tour dates, Philadelphia’s finest played a near sold out show at Bethlehem’s MusikFest Cafe. See the photos from this awesome show.
DR. DOGAlthough the energy wasn’t necessarily as crazy as their last Philadelphia show at The Electric Factory, the setting and backdrop of the ArtsQuest Theatre/Musikfest Cafe’ presented an amazing performance space with luscious sound and lighting. Dr. Dog, was well-Dr. Dog. Always awesome, always entertaining. Dr. Dog started their set with “Stranger”, “Mirror, Mirror”, and “Hang On”, which I had all access to the photo/press area at the front of the stage. Each of the first three songs featured a really cool dark back-light with smokey spot light treatments which created a perfect back drop for the psychedelic Philadelphia rockers.
Dr. Dog closed it out with “Worst Trip”, “Nobody Knows Who You Are” and “The Rabit, The Bat, and The Reindeer.” The band was slowly but surely wooed back to the stage for a four song encore which was stretched to six as the band took crowd requests and seemed to add a bit of extra energy for those fans who eager to get their song called for.
This was the first time I have been to Bethlehem’s ArtsQuest Complex, and I must admit that the event space was nothing short of amazing. The friendly staff was more than enthusastic working with myself and TriState Indie for the photo passes. They even comped my fiance’ and roommates tickets. That’s love!
The first three songs of Dr. Dog’s set were each unique in terms of lighting. The first song ‘Mirror, Mirror’, featured heavy blue washes and bright frontlight. The second song was the complete opposite, going into near darkness with dim front light and zero backlight. The third song was the easiest of the three songs, and included a fog machine, bright star spotlights from overhead, and a plethora of beautiful white lighting treatments.
I shot between ISO’s 2000-3200, with shutters ranging from 1/60th to 1/320 and up.
Nikon D700, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 VR.
I am a photographer and music journalist covering New York City, Philadelphia and the TriState area. I have a passion for photography, social sciences and the urban experience.
I write and shoot for numerous websites and venues, and have had my work featured in a number national publications including Tri State Indie, The Deli Magazine, The Inquirer, Philly.com, The Waster Magazine, WXPN, NPR's World Cafe, and more.
