The Love Dogs paid a visit to the Acton Jazz Café last Saturday night and the swinging seven piece kept their sound in motion for two busy sets of fun music. During a few moments lead singer and band leader Ed Scheer mentioned that The Love Dogs have been playing at the Acton Jazz Café since it opened in 1996. He also gave some shout outs to owner Gwen Vivian for keeping it going these last 15 years.
The Love Dogs must be happy when they play this room. They always put out an undeniably cool vibe that is built on their sheer joy of playing. Three horns introduced the band with a mellow sweep of melody played over a promising vibe. Tenor sax, bari sax, and a trumpet(from newest member Mark Paquin) greased the wheels with a sweet fulsome sound. The horn trio also set the atmosphere for the evening of entertainment to come. The horns soon made space for Love Dogs keyboardist Alizon Lissance to tinkle out a subtle sophisticated touch of je ne sais quoi.
Singer Ed Scheer pulled the packed room into a 1940s flavored jump tune called “Well Oh Well.” This very classy and very vintage swing blues was infused with enough energy to light a city block. During the Muddy Waters’ tune “I Wants To Be Loved” Scheers showed he has the smoothest belt this side of the Mississippi. The scorching sax melody from Myanna Pontoppidan also raised the mercury.
Vibe was the key thing on “Northbound Train” and the spiraling guitar lead from Glen Shambroom fit it like a glove. The guitar rode alongside several other things that were going in the tune, and how The Love Dogs remained locked into the groove so solidly while being so busy is a mystery. If that wasn’t enough for one song, Scheer donned his frattoir, or washboard, adding some Cajun spice to the mix.
One of The Love Dogs most emotionally powerful songs is “Learned To Live Without You.” Scheer belts about a painful experience from his younger days, and the brokenhearted lament is gripping. Lissance’s forlorn piano melody mirrored the feeling of isolation Scheer sings of and she too makes you feel it. When the horns glide in and out of the background, they unfold yet another layer of emotional content. Shambroom’s lead guitar phrasing completes the tale, making you picture a jilted lover wandering the winter city streets as his guitar notes cry out with pain.
“Haul Off And Love Me” got its swinging gravitas from Shambroom’s bari sax and the muscular groove from the rhythm section, Downtown Steve Brown on drums and Randy Bramwell on bass. Lissance dug out the right vocal tone on “You Go To My Head,” an old jazz standard once popularized by Billie Holiday. Utilizing fantastic singing technique, Ms. Lissance conjured images of the great women vocalists from the early 20th Century with her smoky tenderness.
“The Day Before I Met You” from their third CD New Tricks showcased The Love Dogs serious funkin side, with some heavy guitar and organ notes and Scheer serving it up with attitude. The rhythm section here definitely made you want to move your feet to their faux 1970s beat, and Pontoppidan let loose with some soulful abandon, blowin funky riffs that had true fire.
Drummer Steve Brown traded jobs with band leader Ed Scheer for a bit, fronting on the old blues number “Kidney Stew,” proving himself to be a good showman. Speaking of putting on a good show, “Lock You Up” from The Love Dogs second CD had a fun rumba beat, with extra drum pieces at Scheer’s disposal opening another dimension in the percussion.
Throwing in covers like The Beatles’ “All My Loving,” The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” The Kinks’ “Stop Your Sobbing,” The Elvis Presley version of “C.C. Rider,” and a swing version of “Iko Iko” showed the entire range of possibilities within The Love Dogs’ collective talent.
The Love Dogs are slaves to music that has a lot of motion. They began this show with a lot of bounce, swing, and swells, and they closed out the same way.