Review: Dosh with This Is My Condition and Boo and Boo Too

Saturday night me and my friend Nathan got off our butts and headed down to Lawrence to check out a show at the Jackpot Saloon, which is a great place to see a show. Neither of us had ever seen and of the bands before so we were ready to rock. The wonderful tool of Lawrence.com said the show started at 9...it was only an hour-and-a-half off...

Finally first to the stage was This Is My Condition, a one man show otherwise known as Craig Comstock. Craig sets at his drumset with a looping pedal at his foot, a guitar laid across the snare and floor tom and a microphone with enough reverb to make Jim James sound natural. Craig slammed and rubbed the drum sticks on the guitar strings and tore the drums to shreds in a way that would make Zach Hill run for cover. I was quite surprised at the riffs that Craig pulled off with just two sticks - the final song had riffs strong and funky that Tom Morello would have been proud of. At the end of the set we all clapped and cried out for more but unfortunately there was no more to be had.
Later on, during Dosh's set, Martin even showered Craig with complements: He said that if anyone in the house was an A&R man, they should sign TIMC right away beacause "he'll make you millions of dollars." All Mike could manage to say was "Wow". We all agreed.

Next up: Boo and Boo Too.
Ever since about halfway thru their set I've been having a dilemma as to what to say about BaBT. I've decided to be brutally honest. The drummer, Gaurav Kumar, was the main attraction. Flawless playing. However, most of the time we saw chord changes but didn't hear chord changes because they were far too busy trying to be loud. Every song devolved into a game of "Who Can Strum the Fastest." That being said, there was some flashes of the underlying talent and possiblity for great music, including one number that had kind of a dance rock, !!! type vibe. I'll give the boys another chance, but it won't be soon.


And then the man that we were really there to see took the stage: Dosh.
I had only just heard Dosh recently so I really was unsure what Martin's live show would be like. Talking to an extremely enthusiastic girl from Omaha (who unfortunately totaled her car on the way to Lawrence for the show) we learned just how related to Andrew Bird the music of Dosh is. Not being a big Andrew Bird fan, I suddenly was confused. But then Martin and fellow multi-instrumentalist Mike Lewis took the stage and blew away any confusion. I got a great spot right at the front of the stage in the left hand corner and was able to not only watch Martin and Mike set their loops, but I also got to watch everyone's faces light up and heads bob as the songs got put together piece by piece. I could describe how the loops came together but I think this video does a far better job:


Then after the show I stopped by the merch table to pick up a Dosh CD, and the man almost seemed embarrassed as everyone shook his hand and told him how amazing the show was. But man, he deserved to be told.


This Is My Condition Links:
Myspace Page
Official Page
Audio:
My Blood
Jitterbug Waltz (Fats Waller Cover)
Hamlet Strings
Ready to Go


Boo and Boo Too Links:
Myspace Page
Official Page
Audio:
Couch on Fire

Dosh Links:
Myspace Page
Official Page
Audio:
This is When Things Were (Live)
Ankle Deep and Rising
Pure Trash
And there's also LOADS more mp3's at Dosh's audio page at the official page.