This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Rachel Wallace.

With all the joyful chaos that is Commencement weekend at GW, D.C. carried on with business as usual. Or at least the 9:30 Club did Friday night, packing in a sold-out crowd for Deer Tick and Dr. Dog for a diverse night of rock and roll.

Providence, R.I.’s Deer Tick played a happily long set to kick off the show, complete with vocal contributions from almost all five band members. But lead singer John McCauley’s vocals dominated, as his gruff voice allowed for comparisons to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and even Metallica’s James Hetfield.

The set list included fan favorites like “Art Isn’t Real aka City of Sin” and “These Old Shoes” — which had an awesome breakdown and got the crowd singing — along with some new tunes. At several points during the show, the two guitarists literally faced off, going forehead to forehead as they jammed out, and the keyboard player whipped out a saxophone not once but twice, including during the band’s closing ZZ Top cover. All the songs showcased folk and country influences, and yet the live set aligned with rock and roll more than the band’s albums seem to.

Dr. Dog kept up the energy with its own 1960s-infused rock for the second half of the show. The Philadelphia band’s set moved quickly, as no member of the band provided much commentary (but, like one Deer Tick member, also rocked some awesome sunglasses). The crowd stayed into the music, if only because a driving beat demanded people move their hips and feet as happy chords and harmonies transformed the 9:30 Club into the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club.

The highlights of the show (for this writer, anyway) were “The Old Days”, from Dr. Dog’s album “Fate”, with its tinkling piano breakdown and poppy chorus, and “Shadow People”, off the new album “Shame, Shame”, which started off slow but soon had the crowd half-swaying, half-bobbing as everyone sang along to the easy harmonies.

At the conclusion of the set, the band made the audience hang around an uncomfortably long time for its return, though the crowd patiently kept on clapping and calling for an encore. The wait was worth it, as Dr. Dog closed with just as much energy and drive as Deer Tick opened with.