When it comes to being viewed as an important music city, we say Philadelphia rarely gets the credit it deserves. Regularly overshadowed by the likes of NYC (Brooklyn, specifically), Portland, Austin and (understandably) Seattle, the city of brotherly love is arguably the most important underrated city for indie rock today. more ›

Congratulations to Seattlest reader Cindy C. who won our drawing for a pair of tickets to see Dr. Dog this Friday at the Showbox Sodo. more ›

We're giving away a pair of tickets to the Dr. Dog show on Friday night at Showbox Sodo. This is going to be a quick one so get your entries in now! We're going to choose the winner on Wednesday morning. To win this one, we want to hear about your favorite dog including a name. You don't have to be a dog lover (except for the Dr. variety of course). From Snoop to Snoopy tell us why you love that very special dog in your life. more ›

Fans of Americana-tinged rock (think Sasquatch-favorites Dr. Dog) are highly encouraged to check out tonight's Neumos edition of Noise for the Needy. Delta Spirit will headline, The Romany Rye and then Ezra Furman and the Harpoons will open. more ›

Dr. Dog has the unfortunate circumstance of being an awesome band with a terrible name. Despite it all, the Philadelphia five-piece soldiers on, touring pretty much non-stop to bring their mix of playful '60s era harmonies, psychedelic leanings, and shaggy lo-fi stylings to the masses. Their albums have been met with ever-increasing acclaim--third release Easy Beat continues to be our favorite--but they remain delightfully under the radar, still a great club band, still a fun live show, and still a group of guys who just like to make music. We spoke with keyboardist Zach Miller in anticipation of Dr. Dog's 21+ show tonight at the Croc. more ›

BICYCLE ROLLING: Pioneer Square's 88 Keys Dueling Piano and Sports Bar is kicking off their roller biking (if that's an appropriate name) tournaments and grudge matches tonight. Wikipedia schooled us on the relevant history: bicycle rolling was originally popular in Britain in the 1950s. It also states that people would normally partake in the rolling matches before watching movies at the cinema (strange), or while waiting in between dances at dance halls (even stranger). Roller racing is still popular in Britain, mainly with the bicycle messenger community, heading tournaments under the name Rollapalooza. Bizarre? Maybe, but we're still curious about this seemingly grueling activity of biking on rollers to the imaginary finish line. 88 Keys will be supplying the bikes, but it is recommended to wear or bring street shoes. more ›

It's safe to say that the only person in town who loves Dr. Dog more than us is erstwhile Stranger music editor Jonathan Zwickel. We won't go so far as to say that they "sound like the best band ever," but we do agree that the Philly five-piece have the influences (Beach Boys, Beatles, Steely Dan, The Band, and so on), the sense of melody, and the spot-on harmonies to always put on a rollicking live show. Their new album Fate covers the same territory as their previous four in a good way: this is straight-up musical goodness, and if you can't appreciate their easily accessible homage to classic sounds (we're looking at you, Pitchfork), then you've got no pop soul. Delta Spirit and Hacienda open, but in a perfect world, Dr. Dog would be playing with similarly minded local band The Moondoggies. more ›

If there were a righteous God in heaven, Dr. Dog would be huge. Of course, if there were a righteous God in heaven, perhaps Dr. Dog wouldn't be saddled with such a horrid, fame-killing name. Despite the cringeworthy moniker, we love this Philly-based rock band: for their radiant layers of Beach Boys harmonies, for their shimmering jangle of major chords, for their psychedelic pop sheen. Haters claim that they are too derivative of the Beatles, but what band playing today doesn't share lineage with the Fab Four? Besides, we'll take derivative of the best band ever over derivative of the flavor of the week. Dr. Dog played the Croc this spring as an opening band and they nailed it. Now they're back in town as the main act and we know they're gonna make another killing. Expect sunglasses donned at all times, throwback rhythms, the occasional drunken rambling, and mini pop masterpieces played with high energy, retro flair, and unbridled enthusiasm. more ›

Dr. Dog is a terrible name for a band. Based on that name alone, we'd expect them to be in the vein of Skynrd or perhaps really bad white guy jazz. But instead the Philly quintet make feel-good tunes that, with all the layered harmonies and old-school production, could pass as Beatles b-sides. Their last album Easy Beat contained at least four full-fledged grade-A tracks, including jangly charmer "Say Something" [mp3]. New album We All Belong was released last month to the best reviews of the band's short career, in no small part due to Flaming Lips-leaning retro jams like "Ain't It Strange" (see below). more ›

A little something for everyone. Consider next Monday's show the icing on the delicious music-y cake. more ›