The Mad Dogs - Live at Clifford

Been waiting for some crappy, dark, South Bend basement show video? Well, here's some footage of the Mad Dogs from 1997, performing in the basement of Clifford the Big Red House (opening for Hey, Dummy).


Songs: Mexican Girls, Blue One-Stars, My Religious Girlfriend, Love South Quad Style, I Think I'm Alone Now.

Chris:
Let's see... I guess I am proud to have been the only person rocking a homemade New York Dolls t-shirt in South Bend in 1997. I am not as proud of the Chain of Strength-esque mic grip technique I employed. Compared to subsequent bands I have been in I am impressed by the amount of energy I put into writing the lyrics to these songs (and remembering the words to the too many verses). I am not impressed with the between song monologues ("banter" would suggest some back an forth). I am not embarrassed by the subject matter of songs like "I Got a Thing for Mexican Girls." I am embarrassed by the coda of the song; what in retrospect now sounds like a Judgment Night Soundtrack/rap/rock "breakdown." I am still jealous Doug got to sing "Blue One-Stars" himself (because I had not yet learned to play an instrument). But I am no longer jealous of his preference to showcase his other bands and sweep the Mad Dogs under the rug (he was correct to do so). I am apologetic to anyone who endured this set, since we had not learned the 4th rule of live music performance (you don't HAVE to play every song you know every time). I am not apologetic for breaking the first rule of showbiz (leave them wanting more- ha!), because the negative energy was essentially the point. I wish I was as thin as I appear to be in this video. I do not wish to ever eat another dining hall chicken sandwich or Papa Johns pizza ever again.

P.S. Andy Yang loves you!

Doug:
Our set in this video seems way more mellow than I remember any Mad Dogs show ever being. However, I have absolutely no memory of strobe lights in that basement, so I suppose there is other stuff I've forgotten as well. I do remember spending a lot of time on the floor during Mad Dogs shows. I don't remember some of these songs at all. I always thought these shows were fun, no matter what Chris says.

Mike:
I'm not sure whether I should be happy or sad that you can't really tell if it's me in the video. I am happy that we have video evidence of this band's existence. The strobe light is a nice touch. Marvel at Doug's ability to continue playing bass whilst being attacked by Chris! Behold the steely gaze of Ted the destroyer! Never before has a drummer (yours truly) so artfully melted into the shadows! Witness the awesome power of amps breaking and bandmates flailing and audience members stunned into submission! Beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Or something.

Ted:
Watching these old Mad Dogs videos (yes, there's more) makes me realize that I probably should've spent more time learning to play our songs, and less time drinking before performances. But I guess that was our M.O., so screw it, it was a hella lotta fun. If we couldn't be musical, at least we were a spectacle. Anyway, I'm glad Roger or whoever recorded some of these basement shows, they've been, uh, interesting to look back at. It was also fun to see Andy singing with Chris on "Love South Quad Style," even though I butchered the middle of it. Oops!

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