Lollapalooza: The Doctors Will See You Now

From as far as two blocks outside Grant Park on Saturday afternoon, Lollapalooza-goers were treated to peals of keys and bouncy melodies as Dr. Dog played their early afternoon set. The Philadelphia folk champions started the day with the layered harmony and organ tune "The Way the Lazy Do" and the sinister rocker "The Girl."

Mid-set they played a block of songs from their 2005 breakout "Easy Beat" and 2007's "We All Belong," including the bouncy Americana-styled "Old Ways," the lazy-paced "Easy Beat" and the mini- folk opera "Oh No."

Dressed for a summer working on the railroad in the 1930s (linen pants, panama hats, long-sleeved button-up shirts), the band danced their way through their hour-long set with dual lead singers Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman trading back and forth on yelped, gravelly vocals. As McMicken leaned into the opening lines of "Ain't It Strange," the jaunty rhythm had band and fans alike rocking back and forth despite the oppressive afternoon heat. 

Dipping into the recently released stunner "Fate" near the end of the set, Leaman growled through the ancient blues-infused dirge-like "The Beach." Afterward, Leaman told J.I. he was fully healed from a recent vocal cord injury that forced the band to postpone some shows. "It's just such a relief to be singing again," he said.

With high-stomping vigor, Dr. Dog headed into a feel-good finale, "My Friend," with the musical togetherness of a band that has been on the road for seemingly several years straight.

After the set, the band was elated, speculating that they'd just played to the largest crowd of their career (even bigger than a gig opening for Wilco just a block from the Lolla site at Millennium Park. Putting on such a raucous set for the huge festival audience required "buckets of sweat," according to drummer Juston Stens. It seemed well worth the effort. -- Lavinia Jones Wright