The Yard Dogs Road Show performed twice (Friday & Saturday) at FloydFest 8 (FloydFest is an annual music festival based in Floyd, Virginia.) Many felt that their vaudeville show which mixed sword swallowing, burlesque dancers, and great music was the highlight of the entire festival (which ran from July 23 through July 26 and also featured Blues Traveler and many other bands.) I’m one of those who felt that way.

It’s hard to boil down their performance into a written review and I’m sure I’ll fail miserably in getting across what made their show so enjoyable. And the YouTube clip that I’m including below only hints at what it’s like to see them. Yes, there were the very attractive girls with their provocative dancing so there was a heavy element of sexuality in the show. But that definitely wasn’t the only element.

One of the things that I liked most about their show was how each part of it was different from what came before. There was always something new and exciting going on. Each of the group’s performers seemed to get a bit of time in the spotlight which kept things fresh as it wasn’t the same vocalist every song, in fact I don’t think any particular lead singer sang two songs in a row.

Each of the performers was playing a “character” (in some cases multiple characters) and they stayed in character throughout the show. The show included little stories about the characters which made the whole performance that much more interesting.

What about the music? I thought it was great. There were psychedelic rock songs, there were punk rock songs, there were 20s style ballads, there was what could be called “circus music.” There were horns, an accordion, and at one point a saw was played (great tripped out sound from that.) They were tight musically and the songs were catchy. But I think their shows are so exciting visually that often times their music gets lost when talking about them.

It should be mentioned that their show Friday & Saturday night was basically exactly the same. That being said, I still enjoyed watching it the second time even though I knew what was coming. If you are someone that thinks that improvisation is a requirement for a good show you may be disappointed. This isn’t like watching a jam band (thank God) but more like watching a Broadway show (except much cooler than that.)

I’d love to point you in the direction of buying their music or a DVD of their show but they don’t appear to have any albums or videos for sale. Maybe that’s for the better anyway, this may be a show that needs to be experienced in person to really “get” so you should go to their website YardDogsRoadShow.com and check out their tour schedule to see if they are coming to a venue near you.