Deer Tick with Mountain Man - Capitol Theatre - York, PA - August 12, 2010

So we’ve seen Delta Spirit. We’ve seen Dawes. But we had yet to see their friends from Deer Tick. They played in York last winter, but it was at First Capital, and since Carter’s 21^st birthday is still 11 years away, we didn’t get to see them. We listen to them quite a bit (there are several excellent Daytrotter sessions with Deer Tick), and have heard what a great live act they are, so we were really looking forward to this show.

Mama: The CapLive show was the last night that Mountain Man would be opening for Deer Tick. The only thing I knew about Mountain Man before that night was that it was a group of girls. I had no idea what kind of music they played.

Carter: It was three girls singing a capella. They were awesome.

Mama: We talked to a lot of people who, like us, hadn’t known what to expect, but the crowd was very receptive to them. They sounded beautiful in that room. My favorite was when one of the girls, Amelia Meath, did a solo a capella cover of Tom Waits’ “Green Grass” similar to the version recorded by singer Cibelle, but slower and about 100 times more melancholy. I actually cried. I tweeted about that song and got a reply from Amelia’s mother before their set was even over.

Carter: I didn’t. You know why I didn’t? Because Mama won’t let me have a Twitter page. They said very funny things, too.

Mama: The girls came out into the audience during Deer Tick’s set. They were singing along, dancing, and having a great time.

Carter with Amelia Meath of Mountain Man.

Carter: Deer Tick was awesome. The music was an all-out rock type of thing, which I enjoyed.

Mama: I really liked them, too. They’re such great musicians and the show was nice and loud.

Carter: Mountain Man went back up and sang a song with them. It was pretty good.

Mama: My favorite Deer Tick song is “These Old Shoes,” so I especially enjoyed when they played that.

Carter: The guy from Deer Tick sounds a little like the guy from Delta Spirit.

Mama: Yeah, they do sound a little bit similar. But his voice has a grittier kind of thing going on. It’s very distinct. His name is John McCauley, and he has a side project called MG&V with Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit and Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes. The song that Mountain Man sang with Deer Tick that night is an MG&V song called “Daydreaming.” It’s a really great song.

Carter: I saw my band director at the show. Hi, Dr. Moyer!

Mama: I wonder how he liked it?

Carter: I’ll bet you he did.

Mama: I know I did.

Carter: I did too.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA. Next week's a big week, too: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhett Miller, and Spoon! How's that for variety?

Dawes - Capitol Theatre - York, PA - July 29, 2010

After seeing Dawes at XPN Fest, we were really looking forward to their visit to York. At the festival, Mama fell in love with the song “Love Is All I Am,” and played it incessantly during the week between shows. The opener for their CapLive performance was a band from Philly called The Great Unknown, who we also saw at XPN Fest.

Carter: Their drummer had a magnificent moustache.

Mama: He sure did. They were good. I especially enjoyed the guy playing lap steel.

Carter: I think they were very good. And I got to meet them after they played.

Carter with the drummer and lap steel player from The Great Unknown.

Mama: People tend to arrive in time for the opening acts at CapLive shows. The theater fills up nicely long before the headliner starts.

Carter: Speaking of headliners, Dawes was awesome. Personally, I think they were better than when they did their show at XPN Fest.

Mama: I don’t necessarily agree. I definitely liked their show at the Capitol better, but I think it had less to do with their performance and more to do with the fact that they are very well-suited to the more intimate atmosphere you get with CapLive, as opposed to a large outdoor festival. Their songs translate very well to a space like the Capitol Theatre.

Carter: I agree with you and disagree with you; I agree on how great the venue is for them, but I disagree that it was just that that made it the best performance that I’ve seen them play.

Mama: I understand what you’re saying. The CapLive show was the biggest headlining show they had ever played, and you could tell they were feeding off the vibe there. So I guess I agree that perhaps the performance ended up being better because of it.

Carter: When everybody sang along to “When My Time Comes,” I was very excited.

Mama: That’s not my favorite song of theirs, but that was truly a magical moment. That’s exactly the kind of moment that makes me love live music the way I do.

Carter: Which is to say, very much. A thousand “verys.”

Mama: They sounded amazing, and you could tell they genuinely enjoyed playing the show.

Carter: The lead singer and the drummer are brothers and they both make really, really weird faces when they play…no offense to them.

Mama: Ha! Taylor Goldsmith, the lead singer, does have a great guitar face, and Griffin Goldsmith, the drummer, makes faces like he’s playing in a death metal band instead of a folk-y Americana kind of band.

Carter: After the show, Mama’s boyfriend was hanging out with them at Bistro 19 and he asked them if their parents were musicians and made weird faces, too. They said their parents are musicians, but don’t make weird faces, and that they get asked about that a lot.

Mama: They played a song about living and loving in Los Angeles, where they’re from. I didn’t recognize the song, but it made me think of my friend who lives in L.A. While my boyfriend was spending time with them, Carter and I had already gone home and I was googling the snippets of lyrics I could remember, trying to find the song. I couldn’t find anything, because, as it turns out, they haven’t recorded it yet. I sent my boyfriend a message and he asked Taylor about it. Taylor was kind enough to write down the words to the chorus on a napkin and my boyfriend brought it home for me. I took a picture of it and sent it to my friend in L.A.

...You got that special kind of sadness / you got that tragic set of charms / that only comes from time spent in Los Angeles / makes me wanna wrap you in my arms...

Carter: Overall, I think the show was awesome. I would love to go see them again.

Mama: Me too. I’ve heard rumors that Taylor Goldsmith might do some shows in early 2011 with Matthew Vasquez of Delta Spirit and John McCauley of Deer Tick. They’re all friends and have played together as a side project at places like SXSW. I would absolutely love to see them.

Carter: The guy from Deer Tick has a magnificent moustache, too.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show (Counting Crows/Augustana/NOTAR) at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Deer Tick and Mountain Man at the Capitol Theatre, The Traveling Circus & Medicine Show at the Wellmont Theater, Hot August Blues in Cockeysville, MD, featuring Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Keb Mo, and Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, and Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, PA.

Delta Spirit with The Romany Rye and Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA - July 2, 2010

This was Mama’s first show at the First Unitarian Church, and Carter’s first time seeing Delta Spirit live. We were both really excited about the show.

We also got to have an early dinner before the show at Le Cochon Noir in West Philly (right by the Mann Music Center). Special thanks to Jamal for his hospitality. We HIGHLY recommend this place and can’t wait to go back.

Mama: We got to the venue and found out the show was downstairs in the church basement (the upstairs sanctuary is also used for concerts). The basement looks like…well, a basement. It’s got wood paneling and a very small stage. It was a warm evening, and the temperature went up considerably as we took the stairs down into the venue.

We got a spot right up front and settled in for the opening acts. We enjoyed The Romany Rye, and were very impressed with Ezra Furman & The Harpoons (Ezra Furman is kinda like Gordon Gano + Conner Oberst, with a tiny pinch of Joey Ramone).

Carter: Mama met people standing near us. One of them looked exactly like our friend from home.

Mama: We were comparing notes about other Delta Spirit concerts we’d been to.

Carter: I got so hot.

Mama: We were all really sweating by this point. Delta Spirit started and after a few songs, Carter asked me if he could sit down, but we were all the way at the front, and the place was packed.

Carter: And YOU were being the meanest person on Earth at that second. You wouldn’t let me sit down.

Mama: I was afraid you’d get stepped on!

Carter: Our friend took me outside because I was hot and couldn’t stand it anymore.

Mama: I thought they were going out for some fresh air and would be right back. But I didn’t see them again until the show was over.

Carter: I was hanging out outside. We met and talked to people. I met one of the guys from the Harpoons.

Mama: I thought you guys came back and stood in the back of the room. I didn’t know until later that you never came back in.

Carter: We also went to a restaurant down the street for a little bit. I hardly saw Delta Spirit at all.

Mama: Then I guess it’s up to me to deliver the recap. I’m sad you missed it because I think it was my favorite Delta Spirit show I’ve seen so far.

They played a fantastic show, with a great mix of old and new songs. The temperature really was an issue – I don’t think I’ve ever been that sweaty in my life. The fact that I stayed put for the whole show in that sweltering heat is a testament to how much I love this band, because I can’t stand to be hot.

Highlights for me were two songs off the new album: “Bushwick Blues” and “White Table.” The last time I saw them performed was the first time I’d ever heard them, before the new album was released. Loved them then, loved them even more now that they’ve become familiar favorites.

When they played “Motivation,” Matt Vasquez came out into the middle of the room and made everyone crouch down (“a little bit softer now…”). The place was so jam-packed with people, that in order to squat, you had to hang onto the people around you. We all started to rise as Matt sang, “a little bit louder now…” until he hit the crescendo and the entire room began to pogo in unison (“heeeey-ey-ey-ey!...”). Vasquez shot up out of the center of the room and crowd surfed back to the stage.

Even if this show hadn’t been in a church basement, it still would have been a religious experience.

When the show was over, I was surprised to find that Carter had missed almost the whole thing. The good news was that we had tickets to see them the next night in Washington, DC, at the 9:30 Club. But we were worried that after two nights in a row of concerts (we saw Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears the night before back home) and staying up late, that he wasn’t going to have a good time at the show in DC.

Carter: So I decided not to go, and I was glad because I was really tired and didn’t want to feel like I was going to pass out during the concert. I’ve been wanting to go to that venue, but if I go, no other concerts for a few days before.

Mama: Yeah, three nights in a row would have been too much for you. I was sad you didn’t go along the next night, but I want you to be able to enjoy it. So we still have to get you to your first show at the 9:30 Club, and I don’t think that the First Unitarian show should count as your first Delta Spirit show, since you didn’t really see any of it.

Carter: I love shows with seats and air conditioning. I’ll go see Delta Spirit when they play a show where there are seats and air conditioning.

Mama: Sounds like Delta Spirit needs to play a CapLive show!!

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Kate Miller-Heidke, The Felice Brothers, and the XPoNential Music Festival!