Ryan's POPPED! Diary for Friday, April 13

Bands I Caught: Illinois, Bardo Pond, The Spinto Band, Dr. Dog
Venue: Starlight Ballroom

When I saw a newspaper ad with the POPPED! lineup several weeks ago, the Starlight Ballroom show, especially, enticed me. Not only because that was my favorite venue south of Girard but because I was a big fan of Dr. Dog and enjoyed what I had heard of Illinois and The Spinto Band. And right from jump the event exceeded my high expectations. The doors opened close to when they were supposed to. The temperature inside was comfortable (a far cry from the last show I attended there, at which I feared Corin Tucker’s amp might melt). It wasn’t too crowded. And you just have to love the space, which is equal parts roller rink and Bowery dive; if you close your eyes you can almost see Johnny Thunders skating backwards.

Illinois
There are worse ways to say hello to a Philadelphia crowd then yelling “Go Eagles,” as Illinois front man Chris Archibald did upon taking the stage. From there, the Bucks County band wowed with a tight, spirited, and diverse set built upon a thick layer of guitar, keyboard, drums, bass, and banjo. Their sound evoked comparisons to Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, the Flaming Lips, and Built to Spill, and one of the songs began with a Slim Shady-ish spoken verse. On the band’s standout track, “One on One,” Archibald sang through a telephone to distort the vocals—a cool thing to see, but to me it detracted from an otherwise terrific pop/rock song. But maybe he needs that to break the monotony of performing the same songs show after show; he strikes me as that kid in middle school who couldn’t sit still and would have been separated but for it being pre-ADD.

Bardo Pond
Next to take the stage was Philly band Bardo Pond, whose songs featured heavy, Bonham-y drums, spacey vocals, and droning guitars. Truthfully, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but the songs were artfully crafted and performed. The band seemed to hold the crowd’s attention and earn its respect, but the collective energy waned. I got the feeling Bardo Pond might have killed if it was headlining but that it got lost in the shuffle amid the poppier, higher-tempo Illinois and Spinto Band.

The Spinto Band
The Wilmington, Delaware band picked the energy back up with a set of zany, infectious, intelligent power pop. I saw them about a year ago opening for the Arctic Monkeys and thought the songs were good but the musicianship not quite ready for prime time, but this time they sounded tight and self-assured. The swirl of three guitars and a keyboard produces a sound somewhere between the Talking Heads and Weezer. It was easy to spot those in the crowd familiar with The Spinto Band, as they were the ones whispering about or, more often, yelling for the band to play its signature hit, “Oh, Mandy.” It was sort of the “Freebird” of POPPED! (but with camera phones replacing lighters) and an exclamation mark on a fun and impressive set.

Dr. Dog
Last but far from least was Philly’s own Dr. Dog. It became apparent that it was the band most of the crowd came to see, given the buzz in the air before the set and the way the crowd surged to the front. I had been lucky enough to catch Dr. Dog three other times so far this year, and what struck me most was the band’s balance of precision and chaos. That is, amid note-perfect music the vocalist/bassist often belts out lyrics like his head is about to explode or, flipping the script, they’ll pair a frenetic guitar line with a four-part harmony. This show was no different. If anything, it seemed the band reached deeper to fill the large-ish venue as it ran through crowd favorites like “My Old Ways,” “Ain’t it Strange,” “Keep a Friend,” and “California.” Though they draw comparisons to everyone from The Beatles and The Band to Stardust-era Bowie, Dr. Dog manages to dilute those influences and foster a vibrant sound that is uniquely theirs. Don’t miss their next local show—this is a great live band.