Mike Doughty’s Band

“Mike Doughty’s band in concert tonight,” read an old fashioned marquee outside the Granada Theater. Inside the converted cinema, 1950’s architecture blended with modern lighting and sound systems to create a stylish concert space. Early fans had a chance to listen to the meandering sounds of “The Ron Blackmon Band”. Between shuffles and half mumbled conversations the four men clustered on stage produced a sound that could only be described as a free form musical experiment. Their four faces were obscured by shaggy fake beards and large wooly hats, better suited for frozen tundra then sweltering under stage lights. To add further confusion, members exchanged oversized gag glasses, that further obscured the musicians’ features, were exchanged after each song. While the audience may never know the significance behind the comical glasses, an observant attendee might have recognized the shambling men as Doughty’s own band, incognito; performing an exercise they have dubbed “Face Calls”.

The Ron Blackmon band is one example of the quirky ideas that make every Mike Doughty show unique. Doughty’s distinctive style becomes apparent when he breaks mid act to banter with audience members or ruminate on an amusing thought he should tell you. During the Question Jar tour, Doughty turned the entire concert structure on its head. On the tour Mike played small acoustic sets accompanied only by Andrew ‘Scrap’ Livingston on the upright bass. The unusual part took place before the show, during which audience questions were collected in a large antique jar. Over the course of the set all questions were dutifully answered amidst shouted requests and new songs from his most recent release Golden Delicious. Doughty’s mastery of the spoken word transcends his song writing to make his stories about substance abuse and subsequent rehab or even simple day to day life just as engrossing as his music.

Doughty’s mastery of the spoken word became apparent in the 90’s when he joined Soul Coughing. Over instrumentals that growled like caged beasts, Mike delivered lyrics in the staccato meter of an east coast native His experience as a beat poet shaped the trademark stream-of-consciousness lyrical style of Soul Coughing. Doughty’s unique vocal style is a constant surrounded by an ever changing musical landscape. Though Soul Coughing broke up in 2000, fans still have the opportunity to hear old favorites. While Doughty does not exploit the Soul Coughing name, he acknowledges the past with songs like “Circles”, “Lazy Bones” or “Soft Serve” but do not expect any “Super Bon Bon”.

The innovative sounds, iconic of Soul Coughing, no doubt helped Doughty to embrace the electronic medium as well as traditional instruments in his current work. Doughty is just as at home behind the turn tables or the portable sampler he uses in “More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle”, as he is with his trusty green Coronado guitar in hand. He skillfully combines repetition of lyrics and passages, a style common in techno and electronic music, with rock and roll. This technique makes passages in songs like “Put it Down” are so infectious you will want to hear them over and over. The good news, for fans, is the band indulges this desire sometimes prolonging the songs well past their three minute album counter parts.

It is not just the hypnotic vocals but the complex instrumentals braided together that create the full experience of Mike Doughty’s Band. Scrap’s bass lines are so integral to the songs that he even accompanies Doughty to acoustic sets. Keyboardist, John Kirby, plays fast and loose lending a playful personality to the newly revamped version of “27 Jennifers”. Alternatively, in “Wednesday” Kirby provides a gently rippling background while Doughty murmurs, ‘No se apoye contra la puerta’. No matter what the language Doughty’s songs are always enjoyable. For example, the use of nonsensical refrain, ‘Ding Digga Dang’, in “Nectarine, Pt. 1” is just as fun to sing along with as the imagery laden “Fort Hood”. In songs like “I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing” listeners can envision the girl dancing endlessly to the syncopated beats of Pete McNeal’s drums. In Mike Doughty’s world, even daily activities like riding the F-train become a vehicles of the imagination.

It is this fantastic world that enthralls fans. Listeners can briefly inhabit this familiar yet strange place where a simple Polaroid in the hallway can become more than just a picture on the wall. Doughty’s first solo album, Skittish, recorded during Soul Coughing’s twilight, was rejected by Warner Brothers and slated to be shelved. However, the distillation of Doughty’s own feelings of alienation clearly resonated with fans and the recording took on a life of its own. Fans wanted to see more of the world through Doughty’s eyes. You can empathize with Doughty when he sings, ‘My world’s the surface of the moon’. Yet despite the gloom, Doughty is ever the optimist and continues to love, laugh and learn in this imperfect world. At the end of Haughty Melodic Doughty reminds us that we are never alone in our struggles with the beautiful song “Your Misfortune”.

Despite Doughty’s self consciousness he leaves the pretension so often associated with independent artists at the door. He exchanges it for a positive vibe and genuine enthusiasm toward his fans. With more than a decade worth of material Doughty does not just placate the audience with the same songs every year. The set list is always fresh and changing with each new tour. It is never a foregone conclusion that he will play the now famous song, written by a four year old called “Fire Truck” as evidenced at the Granada Theatre. Even at the end of the night Doughty took opportunity to break unspoken laws by cutting through the pageantry of the encore. He candidly told the audience this is the part of the show where they clap and then he comes back shortly. True to his word the band returned and played several more songs including his version of Kenny Roger’s “The Gambler” which can also be found on the E.P. of same name. In many ways the encore summed up what Doughty has learned and was an appropriate chord on which to end the concert.

Mike Doughty’s Band has only two scheduled shows for the remainder of 2008. Until the next national tour you can get a fix of the live concert experience seeking a copy of the rare Smofe and Smang or its more common counterpart Half Smofe. Smofe and Smang contains over an hour of material and plenty of Doughty’s witticisms, making it the next best thing to a real Doughty show.