Deer Tick (but no Lyme Disease)

I have managed to catch Providence based alt-country act Deer Tick a couple of times at festivals before. I allegedly first caught them back in 2010, although the performance was unmemorable to the point where I actually have no memory of the set. Of course, this could well not be indicative of the quality of the performance; I have forgotten any number of mid-afternoon festival sets over the years. The second time I caught them was a few years later, and at an even more ridiculous time. They were doing a secret set at 3am in the smallest tent. To describe them as drunk would be an understatement, for which, given the time they started, I really can’t blame them for. I was stewarding at the time, so I was (fairly close to) sober during the set. This means I remember with 100% clarity the end of the set, where singer John McCauley played the guitar with his penis. Not even slightly kidding. Genitals aside, the set was incredibly good fun. I would say I’ve never enjoyed sobriety at 3am so much in my life. I was therefore really excited to catch them again at the Garage in Islington last week. I should probably put a disclaimer here that I am by no means an alt-country expert. My knowledge is limited to about three bands I’ve seen at festivals and thought were pretty good. This meant that the crowd for this gig was not quite what I’m used to. The average age was definitely a lot higher than my own, and the percentage of men with beards and plaid shirts was mind-boggling. This meant that the bar was a lot busier than at the majority of gigs (apparently old people have lots of money to spend on drinks for themselves and Jägermeister shots for strangers), and so, after a painfully long wait, my friend and I finally managed to get ourselves a pint and settle in for Deer Tick. The crowd were definitely pretty drunk again, but the band seemed to be a lot more sober. This is most obviously attributed to their more sensible stage time, but they do have a reputation. It might not be cocks slapping strings every show, but they are well known for rowdiness. The more subdued set might be down to the presence of John’s wife, pop-singer Vanessa Carlton, who even came on to perform her duet with the band, In Our Time, although I admit that meant very little to me until I googled her. The two got married last December with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac officiating the ceremony. I couldn’t think of a way of seamlessly dropping that in, but come on, Stevie fucking Nicks. That is knowledge worth having awkwardly shoehorned in. The actual music was up to its usual quality. Renditions of early fan favourites Dirty Dishes and Ashamed went down an absolute treat. The newer tracks were also generally well received, including excellent performances of The Dream’s in the Ditch and The Rock. It was definitely further incentive for me to give the new album a proper listen. The undoubted highlight for me was a performance of These Old Shoes. Taken from their 2007 debut album, War Elephant, it has long been my favourite Deer Tick track, and live it’s even better. The whole thing just felt like something was missing. I mean, it was a good show, but I can’t help but compare it to the brilliance of the last time I saw them, but this felt a little flat. Maybe it was the more subdued nature of the band, maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the new album, maybe it was me. Whatever the case, this time the stars didn’t align, and I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed.