Welcome to Deer Tick

A former girlfriend of mine once saw John Mayer before he was John Mayer. Have you ever had that happen?

I think I had that happen tonight.

I saw a band called Deer Tick at Off Broadway in St. Louis tonight. Just got back. Ears are still ringing. They were at capacity with about 200 people there.

And they were very, very good.

They’re not ready for the big time yet, but they’re close. If you YouTube them, look for “Ashamed” and “Easy.” Good gateway songs.

Some quick notes, because I’m exhausted:

  • You can apparently drink up to 48 ounces of beer after giving blood.
  • Hipster women are hot.
  • Going to the bathroom when a band member is using the urinal is awesome. I don’t know why.
  • I don’t sweat much at all. But in 95-degree heat in a small room of 200 people, I sweat quite a bit.
  • Given the above conditions, when someone walks by me and accidentally presses their cold beer against my back, it’s the best feeling in the world.
  • Hipster dude with the wool knit cap: You’re not fooling anyone. You’re just an idiot.
  • Hipster dude standing one inch in front of me despite the two feet of open space in front of you: Take one step forward, and please, please take a shower as soon as possible.
  • Deer Tick: If there’s one piece of advice I can give you, know how and when to end a song. Don’t drag it on. Don’t milk it. Don’t Dave Matthews it. Just end it so we all know when to cheer for you.
  • To opening band Dead Confederates: You’re pretty good. But I want to be able to hear the vocals when you’re live.
  • There’s gotta be nothing else even closely comparable to being a rock star. Hundreds or thousands of eyes on you, clinging to your every word. Awesome.
  • I feel like I lived a little tonight. As of yesterday, I hadn’t even heard of Deer Tick. I made the spontaneous decision to go–something completely unlike me–and had a great time. Score one for Stegmaier.

Goodnight. Wait, no, I gotta find a photo for this post. Okay, now goodnight.

12 thoughts on “Welcome to Deer Tick”

  1. That’s awesome, Jamey! It’s always fun to find great new bands. I’ll have to check out Deer Tick. I feel like there are a lot of artists that I “discover” before they’ve made it big, like Joshua Radin and James Morrison, for example. But I always have bad luck in getting tickets to their first shows. This happened with both of these guys. I heard them on the radio, loved their music, YouTube’d them and everything … and was too late in getting tickets. They were all sold out in that short amount of time. So I guess I’m really not the first one to discover them after all. lol. 🙂

    I recently saw Collective Soul at the Jefferson County Fair in Hillsboro, of all places. My boyfriend really likes them, so he got us tickets in the sixth row! It was a good show, and I’ve got to say that the lead singer is quite personable and easy to understand at a live concert. I knew some of their more popular songs before, but I think I may be a little more hooked now, after hearing their other music.

    Two great St. Louis artists to check out, if you have a chance: Javier Mendoza and Erin Bode. They’re really good, plus it’s always nice to support local musicians.

    Reply
    • Sounds like you were so close to being there at the beginning for Radin and Morrison! That’s too bad. I’m a big fan of Collective Soul–glad to hear the concert was good. I actually just saw Javier yesterday at work (he wasn’t performing, just visiting), and I’ve heard great things about Erin Bode. Thanks for the recommendations!

      Reply
  2. I like this post. Speaking of hipsters, today I went to this coffee shop in Austin called Houndstooth Coffee. Full of hipsters. The guy who took my order had a white button down shirt with a bowtie, a mustache, and some funky looking Sherlock Holmes-esque glasses. I made the mistake of telling him I like his “outfit” as if he was playing dress up. On second thought, maybe this wasn’t totally “hipster,” perhaps new-age hipster.

    Reply
    • That’s hilarious. I think hipsters dress up in costumes every day. The venue last night was like Halloween, except the costumes made less sense.

      Reply
  3. Congrats for living a little tonight, major props for Stegmaier. My favorite thing about this post though, is definitely the picture. Jeans are hot, yummy.

    Reply
  4. Did you just spontaneously go by yourself? What made you decide to go–had your heard/read something about Deer Tick?

    (That name, by the way, creeps me out a bit.)

    I like Off Broadway as a venue. It’s great for up-and-coming bands.

    Reply
    • Bob and Matty e-mailed me on Wednesday to say they were going. So I checked out a few of Deer Tick’s songs on YouTube (where you can also find plenty of clips of actual deer ticks), liked what I heard, and decided to go.

      Who have you seen at Off Broadway?

      Reply
      • I’ve seen Laura’s friend Britni’s husband Karl’s band (The Dive Poets) there a few times.

        Also, I met a guy in my class this past week who is a pretty good song writer. He used to have a deal with a major label. Admittedly, it was his vocal ability (in my opinion) that held him back from making it to the national stage.

        Reply

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