Deer Tick and Delta Spirit @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 11/19/21
Deer Tick still bringing the rock at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. - 11/19/21 (Photo ©2021 Erica Bruce)
Deer Tick and Delta Spirit played a nearly sold-out show at the 930 Club last Friday, and the overwhelming emotion seemed to be joy.
Joy from the audience seeing these two bands live again on this “Friend-Ship” tour, and joy from the stage for two bands who haven’t toured in a bit. Deer Tick’s set playfully included a couple of covers (lead singer John McCauley tinkling the keys for a bit of “Nightclub Jitters” by the Replacements, drummer Dennis Ryan leading the band on Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash”) and rousing audience birthday sing along for Deer Tick guitarist Ian O’Neil who turned 34 that day.
Delta Spirit’s lead singer, Matthew Logan Vasquez, still sings with the power and emotion he did on the band’s 2007 debut, “Ode To Sunshine,” and the band itself remains remarkably tight. A nice highlight of the night was both bands coming out for the encore, which included some Middle Brother tracks, the side project that McCauley, Vasquez, and Dawes lead Taylor Goldsmith put together in 2011, and a ripping cover of “Add It Up” by the Violent Femmes. Deer Tick and Delta Spirit always put on great live shows so it’s nice to see that all these years later, there is still so much joy in what they do.
