BEST OF 2012 - #9 - PATTERSON HOOD "HEAT LIGHTNING RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE"

I'll just start this one out by saying that Patterson Hood is the most underrated songwriter out there right now, and also one of the best.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of his band The Drive-By Truckers.  Their album Go-Go Boots was my favorite album of 2010, and I named them one of my favorite artists of the '00s.

At first, I was not sure why Patterson didn't use these songs for a DBT record, especially since most of the Truckers are on the album (even singer/songwriter Mike Cooley contributes banjo).

There's so much heartbreak in the songs, and while I usually don't require real-world context to enjoy a record, sometimes I'm interested.  I generally don't follow the lives of the artists I love, just their music.  But I can't deny that, say, knowing a bit about Dylan's life makes Desire a bit heavier than it would be without that knowledge.  And I felt a genuine concern for Hood when listening to the record.  I hoped his marriage, and his life, was doing ok.  It's none of my business, but still.

So, I checked out the "bio" for the album on his website. He always writes pretty frankly on Facebook, I figured he'd provide some background.  And he did: the songs  on the album were written as part of a novel he was working on and hasn't finished, but was based on a terrible period in his life. Well, I was sorry he went through what he went through, but I'm glad it's not what he's going through now.

He starts out the album cinematically, as he often does with DBT.  In "12:01," the line "2:45, I know she's at home sleeping as I open number five," is devastating.  That's some Springsteen/Nebraska level scene setting.

But the song that really gets me is "Come Back Little Star," which features female vocals courtesy of Kelly Hogan. There's a stripped down acoustic version online without Hogan online, but for me, it doesn't cut as deep without the female vocal.  When he sings "Baby don't go: come back little star and take me with you in the night" with her, it just hurts.  I imagine the two voices singing to each other, wanting to make it work, reserved to the fact that it isn't going to work.  It kind of hurts listening to it.

I always think that his DBT songs are very personal, but this album is even more personal, so I guess that's another reason why it would be a solo record.  Still, I imagine the guys in the band might be bummed on one hand that some of these aren't on a DBT record (even if the guys from the band play on the album), and on the other hand, they're probably not going to play these songs live because they are not strictly DBT songs.  Still, they seem so heavy and so heartfelt, they seem like they deserve more than "side-project" status.

But anyway, I know that the Truckers will ride again in 2013, albeit in different form than the last time I saw them: bassist/singer Shonna Tucker and guitarist John Neff are no longer with the band. It kind of makes you wonder if that opens the door for guitarist/singer/songwriter Jason Isbell to rejoin, as there is not only a spot for a guitarist, but his ex-wife is no longer in the group (although I doubt it).  But however they move on, they're gonna move on, and any band with Hood and Cooley (and their great drummer Brad Morgan, and their great keyboardist Jay Gonzalez, both of whom play on Patterson's record) is a band I want to see.

THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS AT BKLYN BOWL - LET THERE BE ROCK!

I have seen the present of rock and roll, and it is The Drive-By Truckers.  I'm not even kidding.  They're not punk, metal, "alternative," "indie" or anything else.  They are rock and roll. There aren't too many bands like that today.

But anyone who complains about that state of things -- I often hear people ask "whatever happened to rock and roll music?" -- should chill out. It's not being spoon fed to you.  The mainstream media, ironically enough, seems obsessed with "indie" music.  But you can find great rock and roll these days  - you can tune into Little Steven's Underground Garage or another SiriusXM channel that he oversees, Outlaw Country. Outlaw Country is where I discovered The Drive-By Truckers, who have become one of my favorite bands.  Their latest album, The Big To-Do, is my favorite album of 2010.  Tonight, I saw them in concert for the first time. I had big expectations, and I was not let down. Even though they didn't play some of my favorite jams, including "This Fucking Job" from The Big To-Do, and "Let There Be Rock" from their 2001 classic, Southern Rock Opera. Maybe they are saving some of their big anthems for their Terminal 5 show tomorrow night, a big New Year's Eve bash. You can hear the show live on Outlaw Country (and this is where I say, "full disclosure: I work at SiriusXM").

Tonight, however, they played Brooklyn Bowl, an actual bowling alley. I'd never been there before, it is one of the coolest venues I've ever been to. (I'll write more on the venue in a separate post.)

There were so many highlights - "After The Scene Dies," "A Ghost To Most," "Birthday Boy," "Women Without Whiskey, "Self Destructive Zone," and one of my favorites, "Three Dimes Down" (which quotes Bob Seger's "Rock and Roll Never Forgets"). Patterson Hood played some of his narrative epics, including "18 Wheels Of Love" and "A World Of Hurt," the latter of which nearly moves me to tears every time I hear it. Those songs are usually followed by one of Mike Cooley's more simple stripped down songs.  Sometimes it seems like you have Springsteen and Petty in the same band.

There were some great covers: Patterson's father, David Hood, the house bassist for Muscle Shoals back in the day, joined the band for a cover of The Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself" (he played on the original) and also Eddie Hinton's "Everybody Needs Love" (which they recently recorded for a 7" Hinton tribute single). Both performances were amazing, as well their final encore, Jim Carroll's "People Who Died."

In my recent post about the band, I wrote about singer/guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood's liner notes, where he discussed the effect that rock and roll had, and still has, on him. That comes out of him throughout the whole show, whether he is singing a song, or one of his bandmates (singer/guitarist/songwriter Mike Cooley or bassist/singer/songwriter Shonna Tucker) are singing. And that passion comes out of them as well - and the other members of the band - guitarist/steel guitarist John Neff, drummer Brad Morgan and keyboardist Jay Gonzalez. They're not pandering, and they're not messing around. This music means something to them. It comes out in lots of aspects of the band: they keep concert tickets down (tonight's show was $20), ditto for their merchandise (t-shirts were also $20) and yet they treat their crew really well.

I've been having a rough week - I had to get rid of my Prince tickets for last night's show. I'm grateful that I was able to go to tonight's show. And during the show, I was able to forget everything else. That's worth a lot - even if they didn't play "Let There Be Rock."