World’s First Ever Canine Concert Takes Place in Sydney

Australia's world famous Sydney Opera House played host to a different kind of music gig this weekend — for dog's ears only.

The Music For Dogs concert, part of Sydney's Vivid LIVE Festival, featured a four-piece band and included whale music and high-pitched electronic sounds that were inaudible to human ears but could be enjoyed by the dogs. Judging from the response (think howls and barking instead of clapping and cheering), the event was a success.

American artist Laurie Anderson and her rock musician husband, Lou Reed, both huge dog lovers, came up with the idea backstage at a recent concert. "I thought wouldn't it be great, if you were playing a concert and you look out and you see all dogs?" she told BBC News from Saturday's gig, which she billed as "an inter-species social gathering on a scale never seen before in Australia."

Leading the (all-human) band on stage, Anderson joked: "We've got some singing dogs down here in the mosh pit!" reported Britain's Daily Telegraph. One enthusiastic owner even pushed his arthritic dog to the one-off event in a makeshift doggie wheelchair so he could enjoy the afternoon of music.

"The dogs were really wonderful audience members," said Anderson who added with some relief: "And there were no dog fights ... everyone was very well behaved!"

Turns out, pooches like to party too. Barking brilliant.

Photo by VIVID Live via Flickr.