Dada: Spirit of 2009

Dada, North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA
New Year's Eve 2009

Recommended beverage
to go with this show:
Maredsous 10, a fantastic Belgian triple abbey ale on tap there.

The three lads from southern California who comprise the band Dada rocked out at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, putting on a fantastic 3 ½-hour show. Unwavering in their energy, they played songs from their five studio albums, a couple rarities, and a few new ones slated to appear on an upcoming album.

Dada has been recording and performing together for some 16 years and they’ve waited 13 years for their song, “Spirit of 2009,” to be truly appropriate, as it was on this night. They chose to play it as the second song after the midnight countdown, after “Dim,” and an electric Auld Lang Syne jam.

The club’s built-in monitors apparently gave the boys a little trouble but it was virtually undetectable to the enthusiastic crowd. The musicianship is first rate; the boys’ interaction on stage was fun to watch, and Joie’s and Mike’s vocal harmonies were excellent. And, showing their musical versatility, bassist Joie took a turn at the drums once while drummer Phil sang two songs, once playing bass, once playing guitar.

I am a Dada newbie, having heard just about everything—minus "Dizz Knee Land," the radio hit I previously disliked—for the first time that night, and I was thoroughly impressed. It’s a reminder of how a catchy radio hit does not always reveal the complex layers of a band. Their music is steeped in classic rock and blues influences, and the dynamic among them works so well.

Dada played a good chunk of their beloved 1992 debut album, Puzzle, and played a half hour beyond their scheduled 3-hour set, finally playing “Dorina,” which traditionally closes out their shows (so I’m told). They opened their encore with a song by singer Mike Gurley’s side project, Butterfly Jones, called “It’s Cool, Dude.” At the merch stand, we picked up a copy of Joie Calio’s side project, X Levitation Cult, and that disc is mighty fine if you too love the post-punk sound.

This was a memorable show, indeed. And the night didn’t end there. Mike invited my boyfriend and me to hang with the band after the show for a couple hours in Mike’s hotel room. We arrived just after 3 a.m., greeted by tour manager Brian. Mike was embroiled in conversation with three women from Texas whose politics confounded him. Joie was sipping cheap red wine, mellowing out to Rolling Stones tunes coming from his laptop, while trying to track down his wife. We all were enjoying listening to the blues-inspired, harp-based early Stones stuff that so clearly influences Joie’s music. Phil and his wife soon arrived. Phil sat with us for quite a while, chatting about music, his day job doing voice-overs which he loves, and life in general. They are very chill, down-to-earth dudes.

Happy New Year to all!

SET LIST (thanks to Stephen from the Dada boards):
Mercury Down
Playboy in Outerspace
Feet to the Sun
Surround (w/Gurley jam)
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
72 hours
I Get High (w/extended Gurley solo)
California Dreamin' (cover / Mamas & Papas)
Information Undertow (w/Joie bass solo)
Ask the Dust (long version w/ bass solo)
Agent's Got No Secret
Rockin' in the Free World (cover/N. Young)
New Year's countdown / auld lang syne
Dim
Spirit of 2009 (extended jam version)
Bob the Drummer
Sick in Santorini
Dizz Knee Land
Moment in the Sun (extended version)

encore:
It's Cool, Dude (Butterfly Jones w/Phil on bass and Joie on drums)
Heaven and Nowhere
Posters
Feel Me Don't You (extended Joie bass solo)
Moon
Mary Sunshine Rain
Dorina