Alt-country rockers Deer Tick plan to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a six night residency starting the day after Christmas at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York.
Rhode Island’s alt-country rockers Deer Tick are celebrating their 10th anniversary with a six-night residency at the Brooklyn Bowl starting the day after Christmas. Each night, the band will be performing two sets, one that’s a full album cover, and another set of Deer Tick originals, and the last show on New Year’s Eve will be a “Best of Deer Tick” set chosen by fans.
Who wouldn’t want to break in the new year being doused by the band’s sweat and popped champagne bottles set to classic Deer Tick songs?
The band picked specific albums to cover on their 10th anniversary, including an opening night cover of NRBQ’s Tiddlywinks, followed by Lou Reed’s Transformer, The Beatles’ Meet the Beatles, Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo!, and Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True.
One notable artist is missing from the bands repotoire of inspiration: Nirvana, who Deer Tick often covers under the moniker Deervana. Deer Tick’s love of Nirvana and the success of Deervana led to incredibly talented lead singer John McCauley’s performance with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic at Nirvana’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame introduction ceremony earlier this year.
Another notable absence from the scheduled covers is The Replacements, who the band cite as a one of their biggest influences, regularly cover, and opened for at The Replacements reunion show in New York City in September.
McCauley noted the absence of Nirvana and The Replacements in an interview with Rolling Stone stating,
“I’m sure a bunch of people are going to say things like “Why didn’t you pick a Nirvana album?” or “Why aren’t you doing a Replacements album?” But we’ve already showed that side of us. I’m excited to show you how much I love Devo! I ruined that cassette playing it over and over again in my first Oldsmobile.”
Each show will feature multiple special guests, including Jana Hunter, Robert Ellis, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, The Districts, The Weeks, and T. Hardy Morris & The Hardknocks. While most all Deer Tick shows are a drunken celebration of rock and roll, the 10th anniversary will be a special celebration in honor of the band’s progression over the years from a one-man-band on 2007’s War Elephant, to a full rock band on last year’s album Negativity.
2013’s Negativity saw the band go in a new direction, with the focus of the album being on a fuller, more mature rock sound, and on McCauley’s lyrics. McCauley, who suffered trying times with the break up of his former engagement and the imprisonment of his father, channeled his pain into a vulnerable, complex, and completely rocking album. The album also featured hit song “Dream’s In a Ditch,” written by guitarist Ian O’Neill, “Thyme,” an original song by drummer Dennis Ryan, and “In Our Time” a duet between McCauley and wife Vanessa Carlton.
With the momentum of the success of Negativity, Deer Tick is celebrating ten years of making and performing timeless rule-breaking rock and roll music with their six nights at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York, December 26th to the 31st.
Deer Tick 10th Anniversary at Brooklyn Bowl
December 26: NRBQ’s Tiddlywinks, special guest Jana Hunter
December 27: Lou Reed’s Transformer, special guest Robert Ellis
December 28: The Beatles’ Meet the Beatles, special guest Joe Fletcher and The Wrong Reasons
December 29: Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, special guest The Districts
December 30: Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True, special guest The Weeks
December 31: “Best of Deer Tick,” special guest T. Hardy Morris and The Hardknocks