Caught Deer Tick on St. Patty's Day at an in-store performance at Cactus Music in Houston. The early evening gig took place upon the band's arrival town before their night show at Rudyard's. Nevermind their tour-van-worn appearance, foggy eyes, and slightly late arrival - these guys are good. And their party-first, obligation-later attitude only helps them make what they do look so easy.John McCauley took the stage alone, beginning with a nimbly-picked 'Ashamed.' One by one, John invited the other band members up to the stage; each song adding one more layer of silky-smooth harmony. The parade of friends culminated with a five-part rendition of 'Dirty Dishes' done with a campfire sing-along feel.
Going solo once again, McCauley showed us a witty song, 'Cake & Eggs' co-written with a member of folk trio Those Darlins and admittedly ripped off from a John Prine Song. He also introduced us to the first taste of Born On Flag Day, his next album, due out sometime later this year.
The showcase was capped off with a somewhat darker version of Hank's 'Never Get Out of this World Alive.' I've always felt a strong presence of ol' Hank in John's stage swagger and country drawl (see 'Spend The Night'), but it was nice to hear him put his own flare on one of the legend's best songs.
More Pictures:
Here are some miscellaneous DT tunes I found in my library:Deer Tick - Hobo's Lullaby
courtesey SpliceToday.com's The Old Lonesome Sound Mix
Deer Tick - Still Crazy After All These Years
Paul Simon cover courtesy Aquarium Drunkard
Deer Tick - Hell On Earth
unreleased Deer Tick track
Check out my War Elephant re-release post
Never heard that one before-- is there more "unreleased Deer Tick" where that came from?!
ReplyDeleteThat's the only one I have, Charlie.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I can't even remember where/when I picked it up.
What I like of this band is the style because I think that is not only important singing good but also the style over the stage is really necessary because they know to encourage people.m10m
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