Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > October > 03 > Entry
Live review: Deer Tick
Like fellow Rhode Islanders the Low Anthem, Deer Tick are part of Bob Dylan’s family tree, so much so that at times during their Saturday morning set, they seemed to be direct descendants of the Hawks, with drummer Dennis Ryan trading verses with lead singer/guitarist John McCauley, who was in full rock-star mode, donning oversized white sunglasses, drinking a 24-oujnce can of Lonestar and commenting on how the 11:45 set was the earliest he had been out of bed in a long while.
The set started strong, with songs culled mostly from their most recent album, “Born on Flag Day.” Opener “Easy” kicked off with big chords; McCauley’s nasally, half-asleep voice gave some character to choppy ballads “Little White Lies” and “Houston, TX.” A pumped-up cover of Lightning Hopkins’ “Shotgun Blues” was a highlight, but the band lost steam toward the end of the set as other members of the band took the lead and a cover of “La Bamba” fell flat.
Jay Janner photo
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2009: Saturday, ACL Festival 2009
