This next band is a little different then all the rest, this band is a rock/powerpop/get up and shake your ass on the dance floor kind of cover band…yes, I said cover band. Before you go hating on cover bands for butchering your favorite hit songs, hold up. This next band has successfully performed these hit songs hands down better then the original artists….which tells you something about the original artists!
Allow me to introduce you to the Chicago area band, DOT DOT DOT (www.myspace.com/dotdotdotonline). You may have heard of the name before if you watched the American Idol spin off on Fox called, “Next Great American Band” October 2007 to December 2007. Dot Dot Dot stayed in the competition long enough to be one of the five finalists before being voted off. Being on that show have definitely helped them skyrocket their band name and popularity around mainly the Midwest and other areas across the country.
This is a band that everyone…and I mean EVERYONE ought to see live at least once in their life. If you live across the country, or even across the ocean Dot Dot Dot is a major Chicago/Midwest tourist attraction for you all to take part of.
I first discovered Dot Dot Dot when they were on Next Great American Band and I’ll never forget the first impression I had of them as they were first shown on the show for their first audition to be on the show. I saw them walk up to the stage area and instantly liked their look and style, then when they took the stage and sang one of their original songs(yes this cover band does original songs too!) I instantly fell in love w/ the band. It wasn’t till the end of the song when at the bottom of the screen it said that they were from Chicago! My jaw dropped, being from the same city, I thought, “Holy Shit, where HAS this band been hiding?!?!”
Needless to say, I tuned into to every episode of Next Great American Band just to see Dot Dot Dot climb higher in the competition, finally giving up on watching the show when Dot Dot Dot got voted off.
It wasn’t till June 2008, when I finally got to go to one of their local shows. Since then I have seen them around 15+ times, They’re like a drug, you just want more and more and more—Once you go Dot, you never go back! Now their local shows are not like the average rock band’s concerts. Since Dot Dot Dot came onto the scene, SUMMER is the official season of the 3 dots. They play outdoor festival show after outdoor festival show ALL summer. Sometimes even playing 2 shows in one day. THIS BAND LOVES to get out on the road and tour.
In an average year they play close to 100+ shows, giving themselves days off Monday thru Wednesday, sometimes Thursday. That means Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are strictly days to ROCK OUT with their fans and party all day/night long! So there is no excuse not to go to a show sometime if they play near you.
Dot Dot Dot has been playing all over Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, and last year they even played South By Southwest with another band featured on this blog, The Crash Moderns! (I was told by both bands that they ran into each other at a Texas gas station on the way to SXSW..small world, ain’t it?)
Allow me to tell you what makes Dot Dot Dot stand out from the regular everyday rock band. When you go to a Dot Dot Dot show make sure you are well rested and have taken your daily dose of sugar cause their shows can get pretty crazy!
The average Dot Dot Dot show can easily last up to AT LEAST 2 hours…or until lead singer, Adam Blair passes out, which is tough! Adam Blair is like the tazmanian devil when he’s on stage. You’d think the pint sized rocker was snorting some pixie sticks backstage prior to jumping on stage w/ the other bandmates, Stephan, Little Lisa, Michael, and Rose. When I say Dot Dot Dot shows can get crazy, it’s mainly with help from Mr. Adam Blair. This guy is a riot, he is an incredible flirt who is not shy about randomly taking off his shirt to show his chisled body to all the females in the crowd or (and this is hilarious) he’ll turn around and encourage a random person in the front row to grab his ass. He’ll shake his ass in front of said person until the person grabs ahold of the butt that makes Dot Dot Dot shows wild! Adam will also tend to climb the speakers or if outside at a festival, climb the stage pillers holding up the tent above the stage. I like to call him a Crazy little Monkey, cause, well, That’s what he is!!
What’s different about Dot Dot Dot is that, while Adam Blair sings all the Dot Dot Dot original songs, it’s not entirely focused on Adam being the lead singer all the time. Every single band member takes a turn at signing and being the front man(or women) usually for two different cover songs. All 5 members take their picks from their favorite cover songs from the 80s, 90s or recent billboard hits, which is partly why Dot shows run pretty long. And not to mention you will never have that awkward moment of just standing around during one song cause you don’t know the words.
Have you always wanted to see Lady Gaga but have found it next to impossible to get tickets for her shows? Me too, but not to worry! Bassist, Little Lisa does an amazing job performing “Pokerface” and “Just Dance”. Personally those are my absolute favorite Dot cover songs to see at one of their shows. Little Lisa also does a mean “Fergielicious” too, even gets down into the crowd and busts a move w/ them doing the electric slide!
Need some Beastie Boys or Flo Rida songs? No worries, Drummer Stephan lets out his badass inner screamo out when he performs “Sabotage” and “Right Round”.
You wanna practice up on that “Single Ladies” dance that Beyonce made oh so popular? No worries dot guitarist, Rose does an awesome version of “Single Ladies” that she links in with M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” (you should see this girl imitate the gun cocking sound throughout the song w/ her arms!)
Micheal*, the keyboardist and at times, guitarist does some cover songs too but I for the life of me can’t remember the names of the songs, but you should see him rock two keyboards at the same time or show off his mad Keytar skills! Also, at every Dot show you will see 2 different rubber ducks sitting on his 2 keyboards on stage…Mike is a ducky enthusiast, he loves collecting rubber ducks, but no longer has to worry about getting more because Dot Dot Dot fans have been known for bringing a duck to shows to give to Michael.
*Do not confuse him with Ferris Bueller’s sidekick, Cameron Frye… Michael is practically a spitting image of Cameron, it’s awesome!
Oh yeah, when it’s Little Lisa’s turn to do a cover song it’s not uncommon for her to break it down and do a total one handed push up! This girl is badass!
Other songs Dot Dot Dot is known to cover(to name a few):
The Darkness-“I believe in a thing called love” (the Dot version blows the original out of the water!!)
Kings of Leon-“Sex on Fire”
Hellogoodbye-“Here in your arms”
Eddie Money - “Take Me Home Tonight” (really fun Dot version)
“Jumparound” is usually the song that they end with that eventually gets the whole crowd jumping along with them, so much fun and a lot of jumping!
“Sweet Caroline”
Panic! At The Disco - “I write Sins…”
Katy Perry-“I Kissed A Girl”
Metro Station - “Shake It”
“Video Killed The Radio Star”
And So many others, that’s just a few of the best.
Dot Dot Dot has two albums out, with strictly original Dot songs which are powerpop/rock. To listen to some songs go to www.myspace.com/dotdotdotonline and take a listen at the songs in the player, and it’s a must to go to their videos section of the MySpace and watch the videos they uploaded…particularly, The Karate Kidding, it’s hilariously awesome!
You can purchase any of Dot Dot Dot’s albums or merch by going to: http://dotdotdotonline.bigcartel.com/
Dot Dot Dot is a band that Loves to interact with fans either at shows or virtually through MySpace or Facebook so drop them a line and have a chat. http://www.facebook.com/dotdotdotonline
After every single Dot show, the band goes out and meets with every single one of their fans to sign autographs and take pictures and just hang out with everyone. They are very very friendly dots.
To see some of the craziness that can go on at a Dot Dot Dot show search “Dot Dot Dot” in youtube or just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqFkbncBq3Y
They also have a song featured in the Party City commercial currently in circulation on TV, song: “We Let The Party Go On” which you can get on amazon or itunes by typing in “Kentucky Derby” and “Party Up At The Downs” into a search.
Almost forgot, They are on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/dotdotdotonline
as well as drummer, Stephan: http://twitter.com/StephanKohnke
however they are not avid tweeters, maybe they need more incentive by means of fans demanding that they tweet more for them to get on top. But Facebook is THE place to get in touch and keep in touch with Adam, Stephan, Rose, and Michael who all have personal pages.
