Dr. Dog And Deer Tick @ Cannery Ballroom, Nashville 5/6/2010

Dogs and ticks aren’t something you’d usually want to combine. But when it’s Dr. Dog and Deer Tick, the pairing can only yield an awesome night of music.

Rhode Island’s Deer Tick took the stage first, previewing songs from their fantastic new album, The Black Dirt Sessions, the band’s third LP. Lead singer John McCauley, who doffed an over-sized pair of white shades, was in fine form, his sandpaper vocals finessing every well-thought-out lyric. McCauley performed an affecting and poignant solo version of “Diamond Rings 2007,” from the band’s debut, accompanying himself on electric guitar. He also sang a duet with his fiance, Nikki Darlin of country-pop band Those Darlins, who he proposed to last summer live on stage (by giving her a toe ring). Deer Tick, who have a reputation for drunken antics, were on good behavior throughout. Perhaps the music was better off for it.

The crowd was hot for Dr. Dog, who, after years on the festival circuit, have perfected their live show to such a degree that you’d think you were listening to one of their records. Which isn’t to say that they lacked spontaneity; the Philly-indie rockers were a ball of energy, bouncing around like Muppets as their light show bathed them in an array of psychedelic colors. Their set relied heavily on tracks from their 2008 album Fate, which sprung to life under slightly revamped arrangements. They also sampled from their latest album, Shame, Shame, which the band recorded with the intent of recreating the raucous energy of their stage shows. But all of the songs they played had that Dr. Dog magic — chord changes that leave you wanting more, lyrics that hint at deeper meanings, and a sound that’s never retro, but always familiar.