By Jodi Root

It’s 11:30 PM. The Empty Bottle has a pretty packed floor, with a various sea of indie kids, country fans and a pack of diverse folk who have nothing better to do on a Wednesday evening. PBRs and High Lifes are clutched in several sweaty fists, and the soundtrack up until this point has consisted of a blend of folk, twang and alt-pop—both pleasant and suitable for the occasion, courtesy of LA based Dawes and the local Chi outfit State Champion. It’s getting late, but no attendees seem in any hurry to get anywhere, except maybe closer to the stage as the headlining quartet subtly approaches the stage for a quick sound check.

Lemon lime neon lighting illuminates the relatively small cluttered stage of the Bottle, and the crowd grows quiet–if even only for a moment, before the haggard, handle bar mustache and flannel sporting frontman, John McCauley steps up to the mic stand. Beside him stand a suspiciously young looking bassist, a guitarist awkwardly fashioned in an original airbrushed t-shirt featuring a bottle of blue Gatorade and flying bats, and a plump drummer, fit with a massive, and very impressive, full faced beard. This is Deer Tick, and they are headlining tonight. McCauley rasps, in his deep muppet like way of speaking, “I had a dream last night. I got a blow job, a gram of cocaine, and my iPod started working again. When I woke up, none of this was true—which was ok. Actually, I don’t know what I’m talking about, this is all completely unacceptable.” The crowd roars in agreement.

An addicting drum beat quickly builds, pulsing into an increasing gallop, with collisions of cymbals, leading into some intense sliding guitar work. And this is just the beginning. The music is loud, demanding and deafening. It is merely the introduction of the first song, and as McCauley croons his gritty, yet smooth and somehow sexy scratchy vocals—the results are almost epic. It’s country. It’s rock. It’s classic southern twang, but with hints of rockabilly. Upbeat, soothing, impatient, immediate. All of the above. It’s amazing. The crowd is all on it, with sporadic and enthusiastic loud bursts of applause. The whole house seems to know what’s coming with each new song—as alt country ballads transition to sweet pop duets, and then again to stand up bass featured stomp fests, there is never a track featured without a solid rock basis.

The fan following and loyalty is amazing, as demonstrated by the wild and dancing crowd, especially for a group who’s only had two albums—both released under a single year’s window at that. Highlights from the set included not only material from last year’s War Elephant and June’s recent Born on Flag Day; but also new material from next year’s upcoming release as well (believe the song was titled “Axe is Forever,” but I had a hard time deciphering his garble).

Highlights included “Easy,” “Ashamed,” “Friday XIII,” “Smith Hill” and “Little White Lies.” I’m pretty sure I also caught the beginning of a Tom Petty cover as well. Lots of harmonica, stand up bass action, thundering percussion, and some serious guitar work laid a seamlessly fierce night of pure rock n roll. At first impression, I would have thought twice about checking this show—the whole “alt-country” term is thrown around so loosely it’s difficult to decipher the real standouts in today’s scene; and sure the dudes have the appropriate facial hair and dress code—but the music is undeniably motivated and pure. I now consider myself genuinely lucky to have witnessed such a powerful night of real homegrown rock and roll. Do NOT pass up a chance to see these dudes; the live translation of the material was unbelievable.

Buy: Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day
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Myspace: Deer Tick
MP3: Deer Tick – “Easy”