Mike Doughty is hitting his stride as a solo performer
Mike Doughty is by no means conventionally cool. Standing tall and slender with thinning blonde hair and wearing jeans and a black sport coat over a black t-shirt, he is the unassuming, unpretentious rock star of whom our mothers would approve.
Thursday night at the sold-out Vic Theatre, Doughty (along with the aptly named three-piece Mike Doughty’s Band) made it a point to deconstruct typical singer-songwriter conventions both lyrically and stylistically — with a sense of humor to boot. He proved this quickly with “I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress,” as he confessed to said blue-clad girl, “I love your baby fat / Your crooked nose is where it’s at.”
(File)
Doughty is a slam poet who happens to recite his often-disjointed poetry over a bed of similar-sounding three-chord pop grooves. His style has evolved minimally since his days as lead singer of Soul Coughing, which pedaled a unique flavor of music dubbed by many as “slacker jazz.” The band gained notoriety and steady radio play in the late ’90s with a trio of critically viable albums.
He pulled two songs from the Soul Coughing vault Thursday night — a stripped-down version of the hit single “Circles” and the crowd-pleasing “Soft Serve.”
In his solo work, Doughty utilizes words and phrases often for the simple pleasure of the way they sound when emboldened by a kick drum. Seemingly simplistic lyrics such as, “Drop it in the mail / Drop it in the sauce,” which are repeated throughout “Put It Down,” are more instrumental than meaningful.
At times, he eschews words altogether in favor of “bum’s” “bah’s” and “da da da’s.” During “Grey Ghost,” Doughty announced to the audience that he’d sing an entire verse with “fake words,” and proceeded to spew gibberish as drummer Pete McNeal pounded out a soulful rhythm on his drum set with his hands, bongo-style.
Throughout the 18-song set, the decidedly low-key crowd submitted to steady toe-tapping and light thigh-slapping. Doughty elicited the occasional prolonged head-bob during such songs as “Ossining,” from his first solo effort, and his new single, “27 Jennifers.”
There was no denying the connection Doughty shared throughout the show with his band members. Between songs, the singer’s razzing of McNeal, bassist Andrew Livingston and keyboardist John Kirby kept the crowd entertained. These guys genuinely seem to enjoy playing together — a fact that comes through in the joy with which they romp through Doughty’s songs.
Highlights of the show included a brief sojourn to the profound with the war-themed “Fort Hood,” a moving acoustic version of “I Hear the Bells” and the delightfully absurd “More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle.”
It was clear Thursday night that Doughty has hit his stride as a solo artist who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Admittedly unsure of what to say between songs, Doughty tried on a few pleasantries, settling finally on, “I salute you, Chicago.” It was a salute that his subdued fans happily reciprocated.