In-store: The Golden Dogs

The Golden Dogs

Soundscapes. Thursday, September 23, 2010.

Y'never know what you're gonna get at an in-store performance — whether it's going to be a three-song acoustic taster or an amped-up rager. This one was at the latter end of the scale, with the band playing what turned out to be a full-length set. I was passingly familiar with local stalwarts The Golden Dogs, but, aside from having seen their members pitching in onstage to other things here and there, I'd never seen a proper show from the band. Though they have a solid back catalogue to draw from, they were here to celebrate Coat Of Arms, their third album released recently on the ever-reliable Nevado label.

The store was filling up nicely as the band set up. They even brought furniture — at first I thought that the old candelabra that keyboard player Jessica Grassia was setting up was just for show, but it turned out to be an essential prop, used as a holder for a series of round, kickdrum-sized signs each illustrated with a song's title. They'd be swapped into place as each selection began, adding a bit of visual dazzle to the proceedings as well as being like manna for anyone making notes of what the setlist was.

The band's music worked in that vein, too. A well-worn foundation with some bright-coloured flair on top. The Golden Dogs are undoubtedly not too far away on the spacetime/rock continuum from, say, fellow local revivalists Zeus — although there's a bit more of a power pop sound in evidence there's still a third-hand British Invasion kind of feel. To look at it another way: I could imaging this band covering "She's Not There" without breaking a sweat.

Mixing all of that up, opener "Dear Francis" had a bit of a bluesy tone underneath it's rock'n'roll attack. Besides the hatted Dave Azzolini, who sang most of the lead vox, the band also has a capable secondary weapon in Jessica Grassia, who took the mic for a couple (including "Cheap Umbrellas"), keeping things nicely mixed up. Whether listening for the little bits borrowed here and there (like "Travel Time" which lifts a line from Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne") or basking in "Lester"'s bright rays of AM glory (its pictograph, in fact, included a radiant sun) there was a lot to like here. The band even threw in a brand new one, called "Pretending".

I also dug how they were even entertaining as they performed an elaborate switchover act while rotating instruments, with a complicated three-way drumstick and bass exchange that ensured the hi-hat rhythm was never stopped, even as a new drummer took over. The set ended with "Burst"'s fading reverse echo guitar shimmering over the crowd, as someone from the audience started calling for a "disco dance party!". The band then shrugged and went ahead and did it, or at least jammed out a dance-y little instrumental, as a guitar was passed out to an audience member, who appeared to be too shy to try and add to the outro.

In the end, we got a fifty-five minute, thirteen song set that celebrated the hell out of Coat Of Arms by presenting every track from the album. You can't ask for much more than that for free.

Listen to a track from this set here.