On The Download: Deer Tick At The El Rey Theatre

Every once in a while you get lucky. Right place, right night, right band. That was the case at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theate for me and a few hundred other fans of Rhode Island-based band Deer Tick.

Known for their raucous live sets the Tick did not disappoint, treating the LA audience to a ragged and, at times, beautiful live performance of songs from their three albums. While some bands just play their songs live, trying to sound as close to the recorded version as possible, John McCauley & Co. fearlessly re-arranged and re-worked many of their best known tunes. They slowed down the usually country-sounding “Ashamed,” while rocking out many of their more mellow songs.

The band added a few newly written, unreleased songs including the risqué crowd pleaser “Cake & Eggs.” McCauley also gave the rest of the band a brief backstage siesta while he performed solo versions of a few numbers including a beautiful take on fan favorite “Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin),” before bringing the rest of the boys back for a beautiful almost tear-inducing mostly a capella version of “Dirty Dishes”

Mid-set, singer/guitarist John McCauley invited up Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, and Matt Vasquez of the Delta Spirit to debut songs from their upcoming side project, now called Middle Brothers. The four songs sounded amazing, with the three vocalists harmonizing as well as trading off vocal duties. If their live performance is any indication of things to come, their upcoming disc should be nothing short of incredible.

Deer Tick closed the almost two-hour set with a little help from stellar opening act J. Roddy Walston and the Business on the Band’s delta classic “Down South in New Orleans,” followed by a punked-up cover of Ritchie Valens “La Bamba.” All in all the performance made clear that this is a daring band sharpened by touring and unafraid of taking chances. Never satisfied with just going through the motions of a live performance, they keep the audience surprised, hanging on every lyric and note waiting to see what’s going to happen next.