Seen & Heard vol. 2

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 – Dr. Dog with The Districts at Stage AE (Pittsburgh, PA)

Perched in what I will affectionately call the Statler and Waldorf seats, I had the chance to see two bands I have liked from afar for the very first time.  In fact, not since Max Talbot was cheered wearing a Flyers jersey upon his return to Pittsburgh in 2011, has anything from Philadelphia gotten as many cheers in the Steel City!   On the very same night in which The Who was playing CONSOL Energy Center we got all the rock ‘n roll distortion that we needed at Stage AE.  The Districts loved their pedals, and highlighted their set with the songs “Long Distance” and their closing jam on “Young Blood” which resulted in lead guitarist Pat Cassidy hanging his guitar on his amplifier.  It was great to see the opening band play to a big, appreciative crowd and I believe the headliner heard the encore chants and came out swinging.  

Not to be outdone, the dueling lead vocals of Toby Leaman (vocals & bass guitar) & Scott McMicken (vocals & lead guitar) of Dr. Dog kept me on my toes for their entire set.  Knowing songs but not too many actual song titles, I was hoping for setlist.fm to populate in front of me during the show but that would have diverted my attention from the music taking place in front of me.  I really enjoyed the layers of instrumentation, the band’s contagious energy and the musical quirkiness that is Dr. Dog.  “That Old Black Hole” was a song that I recognized and that jumped out at me and overall, it is quite possible that those in attendance might have witnessed an early-frontrunner for concert of the year.   

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 – Galactic at Rex Theatre (Pittsburgh, PA)

Being a touring musician can be a grind, however, the core of musicians that make up the band Galactic has largely remained intact for two decades.  The band has released over 10 albums and can annually be found headlining a stage at Jazz Fest in New Orleans when not touring.  However, there was something about their recent performance at the Rex Theater that did not allow me to make a connection with the music.

The version of the band that I saw, while extremely talented, still had me racking my brain for what I really wanted to be hearing.  Coming right out of the gate with a funk jam that got the sold out crowd moving, the band’s set seemed to cool off just as quickly when they added vocals.  I knew it would not be a full instrumental set, but I believe that is where the band was at its best last night.  Drummer Stanton Moore, keyboardist Rich Vogel, saxophonist Ben Ellman and arguably the only rapping trombonist, Corey Henry lit up the room with their solos. 

These observations led my friend J.J. and I to contemplate how many bands/artists do you want to go see perform live after years since hearing them for the very first time?  It has been 19 years for me since first hearing the funky beats from the song “Go Go” at a record store in New Orleans.   And while Galactic continues to be a great band and evolve (check out their new single “Into The Deep” from their new album of the same name) there is part of me that wished that I had passed my tickets along to the kids outside who were looking to capture their first Galactic moment.  

Thanks for reading.  RIP - Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor.