In Focus: Deer Tick Rock Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs

Deer Tick made their long awaited return to the Capital Region on Saturday December 10, playing a near sold out show at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs.  The indie rockers last played the Capital Region in 2018

Deer Tick, from Providence, Rhode Island was originally born as the solo project of singer John McCauley.  McCauley secured the band’s line up early on, adding brothers Dennis (drums) and Christopher (bass).  McCauley would later add Ian O’neil (guitar and vocals) and firmly establish the band’s line up that would continue today.  

Izzy Heltai kicked off the evening, playing a 35 minute set to an already packed room.  Heltai, from nearby Brookline, MA, boasted proudly of previously playing coffee shops in Saratoga Springs.  He and his band captivated the audience, performing a blend of mellow indie pop.  As the set wound to a close, Heltai’s bandmates left the stage, allowing for one final song, just Heltai and an acoustic guitar.  

Izzy Heltai performs at Putnam Place on 12/10

After a brief intermission, Deer Tick took to the stage with a roar of approval from the crowd.  From the opening guitar strums of the party anthem “The Bump,” the crowd was fully engaged, belting out lyrics and dancing along.  The band dazzled with their Impressive harmonies, with McCauley yielding lead vocals to both O’neil and Dennis Ryan at times.  The band’s musical prowess was never more on display then when they performed a cover of the Muddy Waters blues rock classic, “You Shook Me.”  McCauley and O’neill traded guitar solos while the Ryan brothers kept pace. 

In all, the band would deliver an impressive, nearly two-hour, career spanning set.  “Next year will be twenty years of this,” McCauley proclaimed proudly.   After exiting the stage briefly, the band would return for a three song encore, to the delight of the audience.  The band would end the show with a performance of Ashamed, the opening track on their 2007 debut album War Elephant.  “Sing along if you know it,” McCauley asked of the crowd, and he was not left disapointed.  

Additional photos by Zak Radick

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