And so we head back to the pub Broadcast on Sauchiehall Street for the first review of the year. I have actually seen five other bands so far but sadly, as this is a hobby, I haven't been able to spare them the due care and attention that they deserve.
On arrival we availed ourselves of the pub's great burgers and the ground floor bar area was buzzin' as we say, nae, hotchin'! A girl next to us was able to buy a ticket off another attendee which was a sure sign of a sell out and so it was to prove with standing room only and several late comers having to 'enjoy' the show from the stairs which descend to the basement venue.
Having eaten, we managed to get 'up, close and personal' with the support act, a punky, punchy, plucky trio from London by the name of Great Cynics. On stage we had Bob on drums, Giles on lead guitar / vocals and Iona (from Devon) on bass guitar / vocals. Their sound is indie punk / rock and on occasions I could hear the late Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex in Iona's vocals. The band's influences include The Replacements, The Get Up Kids, The Lemonheads and fellow 'Londoner' Billy Bragg. I was interested to note that both Giles and Iona favoured the low slung rock guitar stance as popularised by many of the 'dinosaur' bands so detested by the original punk movement!
 |
| Great Cynics |
The guys rattled through their set and played some fine grooves which, judging by those at the front of the ever thickening crowd, was appreciated and went down extremely well. I thought Bob's drumming was particularly engaging and there were one or two songs on which he played some great propelling beats. In a small band like this, each band member has to carry their fair share of the load and to my ears there were no slackers on show. The bass and guitar solos segued well and together, diminutive Iona and lofty Giles laid down some fine foot shaking, hip groovin', head boppin' tunes. Stand out tracks for me were Back To Hackney (great pumping drums and bass) and Queen Of The Anarchists with its simple sing-a-long and slow-flow tempo chorus.
The basement of Broadcast is small, the stage tight and so the band did well to pound out their interpretation of solid rocking punk keeping us buoyed up for the main act. As a devotee and survivor of the mid to late seventies I thoroughly enjoyed the set.
Head to the band's Facebook page to order a copy of their current CD Like I Belong. Incidentally and in keeping with another of punk's tenants, the longest song of the 13 on the album is only 4:01 long, with only one other making it beyond 3:00.
Head to the band's Facebook page to order a copy of their current CD Like I Belong. Incidentally and in keeping with another of punk's tenants, the longest song of the 13 on the album is only 4:01 long, with only one other making it beyond 3:00.
 |
| John McCauley |
 |
| Robert Crowell |
This bunch of five guys, who come from Providence, Rhode Island, spent the next hour or so playing their brand of rock, tinged with the essence of folk, country and blues to great effect and the songs, mainly from the current album Negativity, were laid down thick and fast. The journey was a veritable roller coaster, at times we were regaled with lovely lilting keyboard solos as in Just Friends and The Dream's in The Ditch and at other times we were pulverised with hypnotic, frenetic, pumping guitar salvos as in Main Street, Mirror Walls and Let's All Go To The Bar.
John McCauley, who has a gravelly, gritty voice on record, sounded even more hoarse on the night and he attributed it to sleep deprivation. As Graeme Virtue stated in his Guardian review of the the band's Manchester gig two nights later John's voice sounded "even raspier than usual, a traumatised croak that adds a lived-in, caustic edge to Deer Tick's ramshackle racket", indeed! I would add that it is this quality of voice that first attracted me to the band and I would go so far as to suggest that it is one of the aspects of Deer Tick that sets them apart from many of their contemporaries. I would bracket John's singing along side that of Taylor Goldsmith from my other favourite current band - Dawes!
Another song that I really enjoyed on the night was Mr Sticks and I was zoned out listening to John and Ian O'Neil trading guitar licks whilst Robert added some cool, laid back, mesmerising organ notes. Sublime!
 |
| Ian O'Neil |
As I said, the gig was a sell out and I have no doubt that the next time these guys wheel their wagon back into town we will be together again in a larger venue. Unfortunately, on the night I was unable to see much of either Dennis Ryan (drums) or Christopher Ryan (bass) as they were set well back (Dennis) and off to the right (Christopher) of the stage from where I had carved out a slot for myself in the front row. However, I was still able to enjoy their respective contributions and between them they kept the beat rollicking along helping to fill out the sound of guitars and keyboards.
 |
| Vanessa Carlton |
I was really pleased that the band played two of my favourite Deer Tick songs. The aforementioned Let's All Go To The Bar which is a 'stonking' sing-a-long drinking song in the style of the fabulous Ramones and the slow, sultry duet In Our Time for which the new Mrs McCauley (Vanessa Carlton) appeared on stage. I was put in mind of some of the duets sung by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, Vanessa sounding much more like Emmylou than John did Ingram Cecil Connor III! Someone in the audience shouted out that the newly weds should kiss and they duly obliged, an occurrence that was apparently repeated in Manchester! Not a bad way to spend ones honeymoon, eh!
 |
| Christopher Ryan |
And so, after 12 songs there was a short interlude then John returned to the stage and sang solo a short rendition of The Beatles Octopus's Garden whilst playing drums! He then took up his guitar again and performed Smith Hill from 2010's Born On Flag Day album after which the others came back on stage to run through several more songs before finally leaving us wanting more! And Oh Boy did we want more!
 |
| Dennis Ryan |
Many of the Deer Tick songs use superb brass instrumentation, especially those from Negativity and I was concerned as to how they would sound stripped of what after all is an integral part of the recorded sound. I needn't have feared as the lads filled out the sound and much credit should go to Robbie for his wonderful (at times faint and at times thunderous, deft in place and stentorian in others) keyboard playing. So thanks for stopping by Deer Tick and haste ye back, cheers.
Set List (21:00)
The Rock
The Dream's In The Ditch
Just Friends
Oh Boy (Buddy Holly cover)
Let's All Go To The Bar
Mr Sticks
Twenty Miles
In Our Time (with Vanessa Carlton)
Thyme
The Curtain
Miss K.
These Old Shoes
Encore (21:40)
Octopus's Garden (Beatles cover)
Smith Hill
Ashamed
Main Street
Mirror Walls
(22:05)
