Hearing the Doves in a New Dimension

The Doves

Whenever I think of the Doves, I’m reminded of an event I attended back in 2001.  The “Lost Souls” CD had just been released and I was driving back from a benefit for starving Cambodian children when the song, “Rise” blasted out of my car speakers. I don’t know if it was the emotion of the event, the alcohol or simply the majesty of the song, but tears began streaming down my checks as I cranked up the volume.

I think of that night every time I hear that song.

Fast-forward to 2009. The Doves are headlining at the Vic Theater in Chicago and my buddy Dennis Collins and I have great seats in the first balcony with an unobstructed view of the band. I am testing out Baby Blue  ETY•Plugs™ (ER•20 High Fidelity Earplugs) from a cool Chicago company called Etymotic Research. I’ve already witnessed one great performance from this band (back in 2003 at the Vic to support “The Last Broadcast”), so my expectations are extremely high.

The Earplugs are comfortable but will they work? I’ve seen the band four times and since the Doves tend to be bassy and somewhat distorted live, I am shocked by how well the earplugs reduce noise and clean up the sound. It’s like listening to the Doves on a great stereo.

But alas, the earplugs also reveal something I didn’t expect — they’re not a great musicians. Throughout the show, drummer Andy Williams was playing at a different tempo than the rest of the band. Jez Williams’ vocals clearly were being piped in on certain songs (because he certainly wasn’t hitting the high notes on any of the songs) and I’m not sure who was playing several of Jimi Goodwin’s solos.

Was it the earplugs, the Doves or me?

Fortunately, the rabid crowd didn’t seem to care as the lads cranked out prime cuts from all of four of their CDs, including their latest, “Kingdom of Rust.” Highlights included “Jetstream,” “The Outsiders” and “10:03″ off the new LP but the showstoppers were “Black and White Town” and the closing encore, “Here it Comes.”

The Doves seemed genuinely surprised and affected by the reaction from the Chicago crowd and did their best to deliver a solid performance. My conclusion after the show was that they really are more of a studio band, even though their music should sound great live.

This may be the last time I see the Doves but it won’t be the last time I use the Baby Blues — they were awesome.