Live Review: The Dollyrots “Down the Rabbit Hole Tour” – Teaneck, NJ

Debonair Music Hall – 19 Jul 2022

A Pop Punk Family Affair

Sometimes a show surprises you in ways you never would have predicted.  (Ya know like the exact definition of a surprise?)  The Dollyrots in Teaneck was a show that caught me off guard in a ton of ways throughout.  I went in to Debonair Music Hall not knowing the supporting act(s), excited to finally see the saccharine punk I’d accidentally stumbled upon when they covered Melanie’s “Brand New Key,” and really looking forward to the super-rare evening out with my smokeshow of a partner… but there wound up being a very different vibe than expected.  

To start, before I left my house, I double-checked door times and was surprised to find that Mikey Erg and Don’t Panic were listed as support. I’m a fan of both so my excitement went up a notch or two, but unforeseen circumstances prevented Mikey Erg from attending. Upon entering the venue, 30 minutes after the doors were opened, I was shocked by the “crowd.” Now Debonair isn’t a major venue, and the balcony makes the main venue seem fairly empty to start, but this was a ghost-town.  Including the merch tables, bar staff and balcony, I don’t think there were 30 people.  The demographic was also striking, although I shouldn’t have been surprised.  As a 40 year-old, I’ve become quite accustomed to being the old creep at shows lately, but I may have been the youngest one there.  With an estimated median age of 58.3 years old I was concerned I was at the wrong show, but the merch set-up told otherwise.  The Dollyrots working relationship with Steven Van Zandt, his label Wicked Cool Records and Sirius XM Channel Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel has apparently captivated his own audience, as well, and it was lovely being on the young-side of things again.

At 7:30pm Pennsylvania’s Don’t Panic took to the stage and professionally opened their set, despite less than 5 people standing up for them. This was my second time seeing Don’t Panic in the last month, following their stint opening for Less Than Jake, Bowling For Soup and The Aquabats. That day I described Don’t Panic as “a surprise and delight.”  I wasn’t surprised tonight, but knowing what to expect left me more delighted. The PA four-piece put on another outstanding pop punk throwback set.  The kind of pop-punk that reminds you of high school, pop-punk that reminds you why you fell in love with that scene, the kind of pop-punk that fills a room with chord progressions and grins. The band’s early-00s era sound, may have been 10 years too young for the crowd but they sounded amazing from my perch where the stage met the wall.

They brought me right back to that era of music when Fenix TX & New Found Glory were constantly in rotation at the pizza joint I delivered for.  To be very clear, I’m not calling them generic, because they were wonderful, but every song performed could’ve easily fit in on a Drive Thru Records compilation 20 years ago. Hell, set closer “Fall of ’99” even referenced the label (without the grossness of the Reines siblings). This wasn’t a young band getting their sea legs, Don’t Panic knew exactly how to handle the crowd and build the energy.  

The band spent its entire set filling the room with “whoa-oas” and 3 chords of nostalgia. The only differences between the last time I’d seen them and tonight was a different touring drummer and a longer set.   The band certainly faced some obstacles, having to stretch the set unexpectedly and having to do it with only 45ish people in the venue. After giving it their all, and more than any of us in the venue probably deserved, they did manage to get 20 of them to stand thanks to expertly delivering little slices of bratty pop tunes like “What’s a Man To Do,” “Ramona” and a super fun little cover of Nirvana’s cover of The Vaselines’ “Molly’s Lips.”  Don’t Panic won over the growing crowd with their brilliant musicianship, catchy songwriting and likably acerbic banter.

The venue started to fill in as the crowd was provided with a very special treat; an impromptu stand up comedy routine from River and Daisy, affectionately known as The Dollytots. The children of Dollyrots Kelly and Luis, told adorable and hilarious jokes for a brief 5-minute interlude, upstaging their headliner parents and winning over the hearts of every person in attendance.

When The Dollyrots took the stage at 9pm, I noticed a younger crowd had filtered in, a significantly younger crowd.  There were suddenly small children bucking their bedtime to peep at the pop-punk powerhouses. Turns out we had unintentionally arrived at an Ogden family reunion.  Sure, The Dollyrots are known as an LA band, with some Tampa influences, but it turns out bassist/frontwoman Kelly Ogden was born in Teaneck.  Her extended family was all too proud to be in attendance to watch her triumphant return as multiple generations danced and bopped along to “I Do,” “My Best Friend’s Hot,” and “Twist Me To The Left.”  While Kelly plucked along on bass, husband Luis jumped across the stage only slowing down briefly to harmonize on the mic.  

While the garage-infused pop-punk vibes bounced off the walls of Debonair Music Hall the joy on stage reverberated across the room.  Traversing their discography and involving the crowd, The Dollyrots put on one hell of a show. Ogden’s vocals and storytelling between songs were as irresistible as the band’s catalog. She gathered inspiration from her family across the venue, keeping even those of us outside the bloodline entertained.  The Dollytots even returned to the stage for a song performance in which River played his own guitar with nearly as much energy as his dad while Daisy took over on a drum kit, while Ogden serenaded her son, daughter, nieces and nephews.

With just her bass to accompany her, Ogden dove into “Brand New Key”, a cover of Melanie’s 1971 slice of summer sounds perfection. When Cabezas and drummer Jeremy McGrath began playing, they kicked the song up and it was undeniably apparent that the band was having as much fun as the crowd was.  The crowd’s energy never diminished and somehow was never able to match the electricity of the band’s performance.  When the band got to closer “Because I’m Awesome,” the crowd was in a giddy frenzy, eagerly shouting along and embracing the sophisticated silliness inherent in the feel-good punks’ sounds while Cabeza channelled Jimi Hendrix with some behind the head shredding.

The show could have ended here and nobody would have had anything negative to say, but instead the band chose to mingle with the crowd, forgoing the expensive meet and greets of less fan-friendly artists by actually building relationships.  This is the first time I’ve seen The Dollyrots, and I will certainly be in line the next time they come through.

Those of us who have been in the scene for a while will often give platitudes out about the community and the family aspect of these shows and how we have found our people in them. The thing that made The Dollyrots’ performance so special wasn’t that treated like family for the night, its that they included us in their family and that’s a new level for this old curmudgeon.