 Sat, May 10, 2008 06:20 PM
| |
| |
 | 
2008-01-11  Entertainment | Listen to the Drive-By Truckers
|
| | by Scott Sowers | |  |
January 17, 2008 | 03:31 PM
Very early Sunday morning I walked out of the 40 Watt club in Athens with a huge grin from ear to ear. I had just seen my first Drive-By Truckers show, an experience I hope to relive again many times. It was the final night of a three night stand in their hometown; a series of concerts they said they were using to practice and get used to playing new material before embarking on a monumental tour this year.
The show was phenomenal. I had always wanted to see the Truckers live, and this show really didn't disappoint in the least. Energy is a term to loosely describe this group as frontman Patterson Hood is cavorting about the stage in between bouts of playing his guitar and singing.
And the rest of the band is just as cool as they come. Co-lead singer Mike Cooley has the look and voice of a Southern crooner of sorts while new guitarist/peddle steel player John Neff adds such a subtle yet crucial element to their sound that seems to have been lacking over the years. The peddle steel is a vital instrument in the sound that the Truckers are going for, it's nice that they now have a fulltime player.
The thing that struck me about this band was that they seem to be more comfortable with one another than most bands. Throughout the show they passed a handle of Jack Daniels amongst themselves, each getting a swig at a time. It's clear that this is a nightly ritual for the band. They're gonna be rowdy and have a good time.
Even Shonna Tucker, the female bassist and occasional, seems quite at home as a member of the boy's club.
This show came just a few weeks before the official release of their seventh full length album, "Brighter than Creation's Dark." But, fortunately they had copies already on sale at their merchandise table at the show, so I was able to snag a copy much earlier than when it officially hits the streets.
The Truckers have long been known for their ability to really capture the Southern condition in their lyrics. Each story tells the (usually) sad story of someone down on their luck, captured by the bottle or of someone who is constantly affected by the malaise that perpetuates much of the backwoods areas of the south.
In 2001 they released their masterpiece, "Southern Rock Opera" which tells the story of the rise and fall of the South and how it basically mirrors the rise and fall of one of the South's biggest icons, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
For anyone who grew up in a small Southern town, most of those songs will probably ring true. The Truckers mostly hail from the Muscle Shoals, Al., but call Athens home, so they have a great taste of what it's like to live down here.
As their albums have progressed, they've gone a little more contemporary, such as with 2006's "A Blessing and a Curse." This album attempted to rid them of the Southern Rock label by having them subscribe to more pop rock sensibilities. Now, however, they've gone a little bit back to their roots with the new album.
It features a lot of slower songs that each tell somber tales of individuals who are mired in a depressed area. There are people dealing with the pains of a crystal meth addiction, having the bank take the old family homestead and those that are lonely at an empty bar trying to find someone to talk to.
The music here is also a lot simpler. The rockers found on albums like "The Dirty South" and "Decoration Day" are few and far between. Many albums are heavy on the acoustic guitar and peddle steel. In fact the opener, "Two Daughters and a Wife" has Cooley shunning his guitar in favor of a banjo.
But after seeing a lot of these songs live last weekend, I can say that the subdued nature of most of these songs only exists on the album. In concert, most of these songs are heaped in energy. Even the slow and plodding yet short song "You and Your Crystal Meth" gets a much better treatment live where it is more drawn out and features a nice guitar attack at the end.
Perhaps the most surprising element of the album is Tucker's bigger role with the band. She came aboard on the last album to fill in the duties of the bass player and contributed a few background vocals. But now she has been given the freedom to write and sing her compositions. Her voice is rich and has just enough of that Southern twang that it would make some of the best country female vocalists jealous.
The Drive-By Truckers are a band that needs to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately, their tour doesn't seem to be coming around here any time soon, so in the meantime pick up a few of their albums. I don't recommend the new album for beginners to the band, but would instead point to "The Dirty South" and "Decoration Day" followed by "Southern Rock Opera."
Once you get those, you'll understand why they're one of the most critically acclaimed acts around today.
- www.gwinnettherald.com
| |
Alert! The allowed time limit for adding new feedback to this item has expired.
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
