Deer Tick @ The Met, Pawtucket RI October 12th and 13th.

 I spent the last two nights seeing Deer Tick perform at The Met. These were the first tourdates promoting their upcoming album “Divine Providence”,  which is out October 25th. Both shows featured two-hour sets that spanned all of their albums as well as many covers and teases.

The day of the first show Deer Tick were in NYC for the taping of their second appearance on David Letterman. The boys made it back to Pawtucket in time to start their first show of the “Divine Providence” tour. Even though they were clearly tired they managed to put on a great show. Some of my favorite songs were performed including “Baltimore Blues No. 1″, “Easy”  and “Old Shoes”. The  set also included  Nirvana’s “On A Plain” and Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene”. During the show they put the Letterman appearance on as the band and audience watched. The band concluded the night with “Let’s All Go To The Bar” .

Deer Tick’s second performance at The Met was even better than the first night. I spoke with John before the start of the show and he told me that he sprained his ankle and was on pain meds and that he pretty much felt like a zombie. He also explained this to the crowd during the show. From the start of the show til the end they barely stopped, playing most songs at a frantic pace.

The band started with “Shotgun” , a bluesy tune that set the tone for the night. I’m not sure if this is a cover or an unreleased song but either way it was good. The first half of the set featured many new songs including “The Bump”,”Funny Word” and the Neil Young-esque, “Make Believe”. The band then played fan favorites “20 Miles” and “Choir of Angels” both from 2010′s “The Black Dirt Sessions”.

The band also played many covers and teases including one of my Favorite Nirvana songs “Serve The Servants”. The also played two covers that i have never heard them play, Bob Dylan’s “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” and The Beatles’ “One After 909″.  Some of the teasers included “Sweet Child O Mine”, “Sunshine Of Your Love” and “Don’t Fear The Reaper”. Some other highlights were “Art Isn’t Real” which concluded with a punk rock version of the song  which reminded me of  Nirvana’s “Polly” and “New Wave Polly”. The night concluded with a raucous version of “Mange”. Some beer was thrown around and then they were gone.

Deer Tick are touring extensively across the U.S. this fall. Check out their website, www.deertickmusic.com for information. I will be seeing them next at Royale in Boston on November 18th with The Felice Brothers.