Deer Tick, Matthew Vasquez
Webster Hall
August 13, 2010

If it weren’t for the encore, I would write the following of Matthew Vasquez’s opening set: Although the front man of Delta Spirit sings with a biting, raw voice whose high tones sound chafed in the best of ways, his strumming on the acoustic guitar fails to vary and appears little dull. The comments on his own lyrics in the middle of songs add to his stage persona but the set fails to capture the immediacy and “oomph” of Delta Spirit.

But Vasquez redeemed his set by ending with a cover of – hold on to your hat now – “Day Man” from the TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , singing “Day man, uhh ahhahh, fighter of the night man, uhh ahhahh, champion of the sun: he’s a master of karate and friendship… for everyone” before retreating from the stage.

Deer Tick opens with “Choir of Angels” from its recent The Black Dirt Sessions , then continues with “When She Comes Home” before embarking on a version of the ballad “Smith Hill” that turns into a drum frenzy. It doesn’t fit the song well.

True to form, frontman John McCauley opened a bottle of Jack Daniels before an elaborate performance of “Ashamed.” It initially mirrored the 2008 Daytrotter performance – stripped down piano – but as McCauley took over the keys two thirds of the way in Rob Crowell ripped a powerful, filthy saxophone solo.

The new guitarist, Ian O’Neil, took lead vocals on the new song “Buried Deep,” a classic rock tune that doesn’t stand out much, nor did The Replacements cover “Waitress in the Sky.” It wasn’t until McCauley went solo 14 songs in that things got interesting again. He teased the audience by faking that he didn’t remember the chord progression, saying, “Good thing I wrote it” and plucks the intro to “Diamond Rings 2007.” For “Daydreamin’” Vasquez joined as Dennis Ryan and Crowell returned followed by a full-band take of “Christ Jesus.”

The encore started with “Easy,” which fit Ryan’s furious drumming better. “Mange” became a 10-minute monster that offered a great performance but an even more embarrassing rip-off of The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For the Devil” when played live than on record.

Deer Tick did “Dirty Dishes” a capella as a second encore. The song, one of McCauley’s best creations to date, concluded the night well, but fell short compared to Vasquez’s “Day Man.”