With the start of this Saturday's Springfest event out at Mad Bowl, the University will begin importing scores of underground and regional musical acts in an attempt to draw frazzled undergrads out for a day of Wahoostock. Though national acts like Guster and regional favorites such as Virginia Coalition have garnered much of the attention thus far, lesser known local talent will be in abundance as well.
Particularly noteworthy among these groups is Charlottesville's very own Dogger. Composed of four late-model Virginia alumni, Dogger chose boldly to press forward into the new millennium with a singular rock and roll vision of the road ahead. Rather than parting ways upon graduation, the members decided to stick around and stick it out, working the venues between Charlottesville and Washington, D.C., to spread their name and their music.
Dogger began as a cover band due to the demand within the Greek system. After several years of gigs and the departure of original drummer and founding member Daniel Payne, things changed. Replacement Graham Hill insisted that the group start writing original material and encouraged more bizarre forms of experimentation.
Yet another change of percussionist eventually gave Dogger their current lineup. Guitarists Brant Kay and Josh Blanchard provide the kind of groove-driven guitar work that tends to make the listener lose track of time, with the multi-talented Kay fulfilling additional duties on keyboards. Bassist John Dinos thumps his way through the lower frequencies while simultaneously singing his way into the band's vocal threesome.
The band's master list of cover songs betrays their key influences to even the swiftest glance. Those groups that are privileged enough to be covered by Dogger are overwhelmingly of the classic rock persuasion, and there are more Grateful Dead and Phish jams than you can shake a string cheese at. Sure-fire crowd pleasers from the likes of Weezer and Radiohead are peppered in among the rest, but for the most part Dogger's set refers back to the glory days of rock and roll.
Despite all of this, Dogger aims to do more than simply ride into your CD collection on the coattails of established favorites. Beginning with ex-drummer Hill's urging and spurred on by the completion of their first demo during the summer of 2001, they have begun a determined crawl toward the impending release of their first entirely original album.
Their own creative juices will not disappoint, with many songs often bringing to mind the most infectious Phish grooves. "Stream" is a clear winner, with the kind of non-hook that sinks its teeth into a different body part every time it finds you. "Suetto," on the other hand, weaves echo-ridden twang back and forth into four minutes that will instantly seem familiar again each time you hear it.
It's all very friendly rock. There's not much here that demands a deep understanding of underlying symbolism in order to be enjoyed, nor are there scores of bizarre passages that need time to grow on you. This is not to say that any of it is shallow, but rather that it will probably be perfectly accessible to most listeners and has very little to offer by way of particularly ominous riffs. The vibe may be a fluid and flexible one, but each musician tends to bend to and fro in sync with the others, suggesting years of shared growth and plenty of rehearsal. Despite occasionally flipping around their share of marginally off-the-wall licks, they don't miss a beat. Even if they do, you'll be too caught up in the chill of it all to notice.
As is so often the case with underground and local acts, the live show is clearly of the utmost importance to Dogger. Their Web site www.doggerband.com is chockfull of tour stats, with information ranging from past set lists to future concert dates and everything in between. Even the audio files served up online reflect this - most of them are taken from live performances.
As such, University music enthusiasts should be in for a tasty Milk-bone of a concert this weekend. Dogger's set begins at 5:30 on Saturday evening. Prime yourself for the show with the free mp3s supplied online, and be prepared to sing along.
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