John McCauley at Moe’s Alley

Middle Brother
Moe’s Alley
Santa Cruz, Calif.
April 4

When Taylor Goldsmith and his band Dawes bailed out of a couple Middle Brother California shows to support Robbie Robertson on a string of television appearances, the remaining key members of the roots rock supergroup Middle Brother – Deer Tick’s John McCauley and Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez – pulled together in Santa Cruz to insure none of their fans were disappointed by the last minute lineup change.

After a set by two members of the up-and-coming California Americana act Sparrow’s Gate, an eager-to-please Vasquez came out with an acoustic guitar and harmonica to field the audience’s requests for Delta Spirit songs that included “Strange Vine” and “Scarecrow.” Later, during McCauley’s solo set, the Deer Tick frontman sprinkled unexpected covers of Bob Dylan’s “Tonight, I’ll be Staying Here With You” and the Replacement’s “Can’t Hardly Wait” alongside Deer Tick originals including “Choir of Angels.”

Unfortunately, the songs barely rose above the bar noise in the background during Vasquez and McCauley’s solo sets. Luckily, when the two songwriters came back out together with guest drummer Jeremy Black of San Francisco’s The Botticellis, they commanded the crowd’s attention with fully electric takes of Middle Brother’s “Blue Eyes” and “Mom and Dad,” where Vasquez added stabs of guitar to the number. With Vasquez and McCauley trading guitar and bass throughout the set, the trio brought Middle Brother gems like the spare and dramatic “Theater” and the rollicking “Me, Me, Me” to rousing life onstage.

Following the act’s superb rendition of the Replacement’s “Portland,” Vasquez asked the fired-up crowd whether they liked good, loud music. A few seconds later, a sunglasses wearing Vasquez started shouting the lyrics to a bruising take of Nirvana’s “Negative Creep” followed by a similarly powerful version of the grunge greats’ “Scentless Apprentice” where McCauley handled the throat-rending vocals.

The evening concluded with a few loose jams aided by The Botticellis’ Alexi Glickman on guitar and vocals that touched on the Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues” and Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” among others before spiraling into near chaos. While Goldsmith was missed, McCauley and Vasquez saved the evening with a sprawling anarchic performance that encapsulated the freewheeling spirit of rock and roll.