Andy Frasco and a Pile of Dogs at the U.N., or Something Like That
Have you ever had an absolutely perfect evening? Many* of us did Thursday night (May 2), as the Andy Frasco & the U.N. / Dogs in a Pile freight train barreled through Crowbar in Ybor City (Tampa).
Why was it absolutely perfect? In no particular order:
Fabulous sets from Frasco and the Dogs
Superb hospitality from Crowbar crew and owner
Brilliant sound courtesy of sound engineers
Wonderful, music-loving patrons (only sell-out on the run)
The dude with the red hat who fixed up everything that went awry during the U.N. set
Bartender Jason who hooked up the crowd-surfing Frasco with Jameson
Andy Frasco’s unbridled enthusiasm, honesty, and pure joy
At the top of the list, however, is the way that Andy Frasco and his pack of wild men have adopted, absorbed, promoted, and put front and center the young men of Dogs in a Pile. They have already played 15 dates together this year and have 16 more, 14 of those also with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
THIS IS THE WAY.
Quick note*: it was not a perfect evening for several patrons who succumbed to the heat near the end of the Dogs in a Pile set. Staff immediately handled the unfortunate situation.
Everything was on time for this show. Dogs in a Pile began at precisely 8:30, keyboard player Jeremy Kaplan singing “Four More Days.” “Samba for Sam” was a gorgeous tune sung by guitarist Brian Murray, whose soft voice was perfect for the vibe. Partway through, the tempo picked up as they slid into “Let U Go,” which led to the outstanding jam “Didn’t Ya Know.” By this time everybody was on fire. Murray and Jimmy Law were trading some great guitar back and forth while drummer Joey Babick kept everybody in line (for the most part!).
After a brief pause to thank the very appreciative crowd, they stormed through “Craig and Pat.” Somewhere along the line bass player Sam Lucid had a really fine solo. Kaplan had dazzled on electric piano, synths, organ, and piano throughout the set. The unmistakable intro to “The Music Never Stopped” caught everyone’s attention, with heads nodding throughout the packed Crowbar. The jam was rolling, which they twisted up into a “circus jam” (their description, entirely accurate).
It was clear they were about to resolve the jam before set end at 9:30. About four minutes before that, however, security personal came from several directions to deal with the patrons who had fainted. The Dogs appropriately let the jam fade; this was the best and most respectful resolution to the situation. Bravo to these young men for such maturity and for a tremendous set of music.
[DIAP: Four More Days, Samba for Sam > Let U Go > Didn’t Ya Know, Craig and Pat > The Music Never Stopped]
By the way, these setlists are provided by Dogs in a Pile after every show. They use go-set.net, also available from their website. That list was up before midnight Thursday. THIS IS ALSO THE WAY.
In 2019, I penned an article titled “There is Nothing Even Remotely Like an Andy Frasco & the U.N. Concert.” I continue to stand by that statement. This quintet is so over-the-top talented and insane and joyous and relatable. Let’s take this moment by moment:
9:59 The ‘9 to 5’ theme begins, and band walks out
10:00 They launch into “Change of Pace”
10:02 Guitarist Shawn Eckels is playing on top of a floor speaker
10:03 Tenor player Ernie Chang is playing on top of the other speaker
10:05 Andy Frasco is dancing barefoot on his customized B3
By this point, they had shifted into the anthem “Mature As Fuck,” because, well, just because. Floyd Kellogg on bass wouldn’t get out onto a speaker for another FIVE minutes! FIVE MINUTES!
The show features music and craziness and standup comedy and you just never know what’s coming next. Frasco had everybody get down, “even you trust-funders in the back!”
Speaking of Frasco on his Hammond B3 organ, the ceiling at Crowbar is really low. The rack of lights was right at head level (lower, actually), which gave Eckels and Frasco fits all night. Kellogg, too, later on. During “Love, Come Down,” Frasco set up a battle between Eckels (on the B3) and Chang, and they had a great duel, delighting Frasco to joke, “Holy shit! We’re a jam band now!”
There was good response when he asked if they could try out some new tunes, beginning with “Try Not to Die” and “Ugly On You.” Sandwiched in between was a confession about being an emo kid on punk before they slung a wicked “Teenagers” (My Chemical Romance) out into the sold-out room. Frasco referenced that often, excited for a sellout in “Tampa Bay” and vowing to come back on the regular. He also exhorted the crowd with lots of enthusiastic “Ladies and Gentlemen!” comments.
Next began a discussion about writing a Jewgrass song, strictly Old Testament lyrics, calling it Moses and Dog. They invited Brian Murray back on stage to play a really nice song called “Life is Easy.” Murray stayed put, and Jeremy Kaplan took over the keyboards to offer a superb take on Dr. John’s “Such a Night”; his vocals and piano were perfection.
Then they brought all the Dogs back up, keeping the New Orleans vibe going (they had both performed Tuesday at Daze Between NOLA). Frasco said, “We’re almost done. NOPE! We’ve got two more months together!” So he began creating battles, first with Jimmy Law and “Uncle Shawn” on guitars, then Murray vs. Chang on tenor (might have those reversed; it was madness), next a drum battle before Andee Beats Avila yielded the kit to Bobick and grabbed the bass as they tore into a wild “La Bamba” with some “Twist and Shout” shoved inside.
Frasco acknowledged the 15th anniversary of the band and talked about “Somedays,” a song he has been playing for his mom as she has been in and out of cancer. His tears were genuine and heartfelt.
I wanna be the vase of your favorite bouquet
I wanna be the pill that gets you through your day
And when you’re feeling blue, I’ll try to color in you
Just to be the man, I never was to you
There was madness as Kellogg sang about fish in a tank after Frasco seemed skeptical about spending $3,000 to see Phish in The Sphere. Then Kellogg climbed (as best he could) on top of the B3 (which could go up and down, with cool green lights inside) as he belted Eddie Rabbit’s “Drivin’ My Life Away,” which naturally morphed directly into “War Pigs.” DUH! Next up was the group’s newest single, “What We Used to Be Is Not Who We Are.” What a fine song!
Frasco, on his master plan to crowd-surf in every city across the U.S., said he was going to surf to the bar on our side and have our bartender, the amazing Jason, pour Jameson into his mouth, then surf back. It was glorious, as captured by Mandi Nulph and many others.
Then it was time for the old switcheroo during “Struggle,” with Kellogg on drums, Frasco on bass, Chang on keyboards, and Avila playing Eckels’ guitar while it was still on Shawn, Avila’s arms wrapped around him as Eckels did, of course, the Macarena. And all of that melted into “Train in Vain” (The Clash). Because of course it did.
Encore? No chance they were getting away without one. They began with the lovely song “Dreams” and then band intros and “Dancin’ Around My Grave.”
Let’s reiterate, while it was fun to mention all of the antics, each one of these men is a brilliant player. SUCH A NIGHT, INDEED!
[FRASCO: Change Pace, Mature As Fuck, Walk, Love Come Down, Try Not to Die, Teenagers, Ugly On You, Life is Easy, Such a Night, C Boogie (La Bamba > Twist & Shout > La Bamba), Waiting Game, Puff Break, What More, Somedays, Drivin’ My Life Away > War Pigs, What We Used to Be Is Not Who We Are, Struggle > Train in Vain, Keep On Keepin’ On; E: Dream, Dancin’ Around My Grave]
Also, there was this:
