St. Louis Snooze Fest
NUVO Newsweekly, September 14, 1994
by Jeff Napier

(Note: Just the Dog Talk-relevent info is here, not the entire article)

In contrast, Indianapolis' own Dog Talk played a set earlier in the evening at Blueberry Hill, a $15 cab ride away. Unlike the dead environs of Neurotic Box's venue, The Blueberry Hill was packed. A huge rambling bar staffed by rasta bartenders, Blueberry Hill's basement was where Dog Talk played. The atmosphere was festive and busy. Lots of people dancing, lots of people drinking. It was a good night anyway you looked at it.

At first glance, Dog Talk looked like a group of slightly euphoric, and possibly deranged Jimmy Buffet fans. But once their music smacks your consciousness, reggae groove infused with jazz swing supported by strong pillars of African percussion reaches out and pleasantly rocks your world.

Halfway through the set, Cliff White began a rollicking version of "Day-O" which climaxed with a 20-some person mambo line snaking around the room. Later the one-two set closing punch of "Mambo Doggie Thing" and "Dog Talk" launched the crowd into overdrive and sent them scrambling to the merch table for tapes and t-shirts. By all means, Dog Talk displayed the kind of showmanship and more importantly, songs, that warrant label attention. After spending the entirety of their career piecing together the band, and searching for the perfect guitar man, Dog Talk is finally in their fighting trim.

Toward the end of their set, Dog Talk's keyboard / guitar / percussion and vocal wiz Bob Schneider was doing some funky stuff with a pair of cymbals. I heard a woman say to her companion, "That guy looks like a geek." Finally, as the song ends, the woman's friend leans over and says, "Yeah, but he rocks." And so it was.