If a Philly-based band has a clip from The New York Times to its credit before ever playing a gig outside the Northeastern U.S., they must be doing something right. Right? Well, in Dr. Dog's case, it seems more like they have a superfriend in music critic Kelefa Sanneh. He describes the group's modestly sized fan base as "rabid." The way Sanneh goes on about Dr. Dog in his December 2004 article, it sounds like he might need to be put down. He paints the group's live sets, filled with "off-kilter ballads and light-headed riff-rock," as these incendiary experiences that inspire converts to follow the group from gig to gig, basking in musical glory that the greater world will soon wear all over its face. Maybe there is a transcendent moment to be had with this group in a live setting, with the beer and the dancing and the cramped quarters and the tinnitus-triggering volume. Or maybe you need to get your drink on to stomach this stuff.