Little Lies and Massive Dreams

My name is Bear. I play in a band called Talking About Commas and live and work in Providence, RI. I like music.
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Nov 24, 2010

Deer Tick does Newport (again)


Ah Deer Tick, you boozy bastards…I caught my 8th Deer Tick show in the past 2 years a couple weeks ago in Newport at the Blues Cafe (which has started booking relevant original bands as opposed to has bins and cover bands - kudos!). The past couple times they were in Providence (their home town) they were noticeably road weary and celebratory (read: drunk) so musically the shows were pretty sloppy. But since they put out a new album this summer (Black Dirt Sessions) I figured I would check out how they were sounding.

The show started off with the obligatory "Easy" (seriously; 8 shows = 7 "easy" openers) but then veered towards new territory with an alternate slow rendition of the classic "Ashamed" and then some new songs and covers to boot. The band was loose but not unstrung. Surrounded by fans, friends and family (Ian's mom was in the house - see pic to the right) it was less of a party and more of a "lets show the people that support us how far we've come" type of set. Some tight jams like “Mange” and “Baltimore Blues” highlighted the show for me and proved that this band can really play if they want. Newish guitarist Ian O'Neill, lent his vocals to "Now Its Your Turn" which provided a nice break from McCauleys rasp. Also new to the DT family is keyboardist/saxophonist Rob Corwell who brought some delightful textures and density to the often sparseness of DT’s arrangements.

Openers the Skinny Millionares started off the night with some fun Rockabilly that got the early crowd's energy in a great spot for Deer Tick. Check out the video below (from last years show in newport) of the band's so called "greatest hits" medley - Baltimore Blues, Ashamed & Art isn't real - to get a better idea of the scene.

Set List: Easy, Ashamed*, Twenty Miles, Mexican Home (John Prine), Make Believe, Hope is Big, Little White Lies, Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin), Now its Your Turn**, Happy birthday***, Choir of Angels, Very Deep, Baltimore Blues No 1, Sink or Swim, Daydreaming (Middle Brother cover), Replacements cover, Christ Jesus, Mange

E: These Old Shoes, Cheap Sunglasses (ZZ Top), Chrismas All Summer Long****
* down tempo arrangement. ** Ian on lead vocals. *** for someone in the crowd. **** w/ “Crazy train” teases.

Opener/s: Skinny Millianaires
Venue Info:
beer sitch: $6 for drafts. $3.50 for a PBR
parking: Plenty of street parking (in winter)
layout: Club with a GA floor with an upstairs that has a big whole in the ground to look down at the stage.
Capacity: 300, sold out.


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