Mike Doughty's Band

Who: Mike Doughty’s Band
When: October 3, 2005
Where: The Showbox, Seattle, WA

After seeing Mike & Handsome Dan perform May, followed by a short solo set by Mike at Bumbershoot, I had high hopes for a full-band show. With a diverse set that included covers, solo work and old Soul Coughing tunes, Doughty & the boys did not disappoint.

Like a small-town hero, Doughty has built up quite a reputation for his live performances, where spontaneity and pop-culture references roam free. His legend is cemented by the now-rare live release Smofe + Smang which featured early versions of many of the songs that would eventually appear on this year’s Haughty Melodic, Mike’s first proper solo release since disbanding Soul Coughing in 2000.

Mike’s onstage persona isn’t much different from his everyday one—friendly, talkative and always with a sense of humor. Who else besides him could pull off not one, but two unironic covers ( Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” and Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf”)? In the midst of those pop megahits, Mike and his band tossed in some future hits (“Tremendous Brunettes”, “White Lexus”) with some old favorites (“True Dreams of Wichita”, “St.Louise Is Listening”). With full band, the opportunity to rock out was just too good to pass up, so the audience was treated to a few little jams, one of which featured two great moments for Doughty fans in the know—a new “Firetruck” remix and a couple lines from “It’s Raining Men,” which unfortunately has not caught on outside the Doughty crowd.

It’s a nice thing in this day and age to see an artist truly enjoying himself onstage, and in doing so, involving the audience to truly become part of the show. After seeing Mike Doughty three times this year, all in different incarnations, when he comes back into town again I’ll be there—because I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Setlist:
Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well
27 Jennifers
True Dreams of Wichita
Tremendous Brunettes
American Car
Thank You Lord, for Sending Me the F-Train (Doughty solo)
White Lexus (Doughty solo)
Grey Ghost (Doughty solo)
Madeline and Nine —> Jam
The Gambler (Kenny Rogers cover)
Unsingable Name
Busting Up a Starbucks —> Firetruck (remix) / It’s Raining Men
Sunken-Eyed Girl
Paradise City (tease)
St. Louise is Listening
Encore:
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran cover)
Ossining —> Audio Clip Jam
Your Misfortune