Mike Doughty is a truly steadfast force in music. The Soul Coughing frontman has spent over twenty years making music. Much of that time has been spent releasing solo material at a prolific pace. His most recent album, carrying the lengthy title The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns, came out late in 2016 and he has been on tour supporting it. On Wednesday, February 8th Doughty made his way to Portland, OR for a show at the Doug Fir Lounge.
It seemed an odd choice For Mike Doughty to book Wheatus as his opening act. After all, the group’s angsty pop rock 2000 hit “Teenage Dirtbag” doesn’t exactly have a lot in common with Soul Coughing or Mike Doughty. Performing as a three-piece, it would become clear later on that the members of Wheatus were also part of Doughty’s band. Wheatus’ set dabbled in new songs, but the biggest response came when Brendan B. Brown took it back to 2000 with songs off the band’s debut self-titled album, including the hit “Dirtbag song” as he put it. While the adolescent awkwardness of those songs didn’t exactly hold up on stage nearly two decades later, both the band and the audience seemed to enjoy reveling in a bit of pop culture nostalgia together.
Opening his show with the heavy beat of “Sleepless”, Mike Doughty immediately showed the crowd this would be a performance dwelling more on Soul Coughing tunes than his solo work. “Sleepless” segued into the chilled out groove of “Sugar Free Jazz”, with Doughty conducting his band like a small orchestra. The band was up for the challenge and worked in tandem as the singer guided them through “Rational Man” – complete with robotic vocals and a danceable beat – and the funky spoken word rambling of “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago”. On the catchy “Circles”, Soul Coughing’s biggest hit, Doughty spiced it up with his own oddball take on beatboxing.
Throughout his set Mike Doughty demonstrated his ability to draw from hip-hop, rock and roll, country, pop, and poetry to create a sound that is unlike anything else. At the Doug Fir he managed to strike a balance between vivid lyrical narratives and danceable instrumentals. The choice to keep the set so focused on Soul Coughing while throwing in a good mix of solo material meant that even casual fans were appeased. Between the talent of his band and the strength of his catalogue, Mike Doughty showed Portland that even after so many years he still remains a powerful artistic force.
