THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS IN MONTCLAIR: AWESOME. AGAIN.

Well, anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that I am a huge fan of The Drive-By Truckers.  Last night, I went to see them for the third time (at Montclair, NJ's lovely Welmont Theater), but I took my wife, and it was her first time seeing them. (She took some incredible pictures - see more of them here).  I wasn't totally sure she really wanted to go. Afterwards she said, "They are a really great live band."  And they are.

In some ways, they have a Pearl Jam type thing going on when they play live - they can play any song, from any era, at any time (provided that the writer is still in the band - so, for instance, they don't do songs by former guitarist-singer Jason Isbell). They don't have any songs that they "have" to do (the way, say, Tom Petty will play "American Girl" at every single show). So you really feel like they are playing you a set that they really want to be playing - it comes off in the performances. The other thing that comes off is the camaraderie, especially between the founding members, singer/guitarist/songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. Hood is the guy who is usually the focus of their press photos, he writes the Questlove-ish essays in the albums, gets interviewed the most, and writes and sings more songs, but I'd argue (and I think he'd agree) that they are of equal importance.

I think they usually open with one of Cooley's songs, and they did so last night, with "Carl Perkins' Cadillac," (a great song about Sun Records founder Sam Phillips - the only man Jerry Lee Lewis would call "sir," according to the song).  The band just glided right into it, like a finely tuned, well, Cadillac, and they were off. While they don't have what you'd call "hits," the first few songs were not among their more well known ones: "Where The Devil Don't Stay," "Go Go Boots" and "Get Downtown."

Things kicked into high gear with one of their early classics, "Buttholeville," which went into a rocking version of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper." (Interestingly, last time I was at the Wellmont - for Chris Cornell - he also covered that song - it's so cool to see the respect Bruce gets these days). There were two songs from their Pizza Deliverance album - "Uncle Frank" and "Nine Bullets" ("My roomate's gun got nine bullets, nine bullets has my roomate's gun.  I'm gonna fine a use for every last one!").  After that, Shonna Tucker got her vocal slot of the night, she sang "Dancin' Ricky."

After that, the show got truly epic, with Patterson singing his incredible version of the Eddie Hinton classic "Everybody Needs Love."  I love seeing all these tattooed badasses singing "Love, love, love!" and meaning it!   A bunch of classics followed: "Women Without Whiskey," "A World Of Hurt" (it moves me EVERY TIME), and "Shut Up And Get On The Plane."  They broke for intermission (people just would not leave the theater, we knew they were coming back).

The encore started with "I Used To Be A Cop" from the new album (I would have played that one earlier in the set, it doesn't feel like an encore-ish song, but that's just me), "Marry Me," and then one of my favorites, "Let There Be Rock."  Once again, Springsteen was referenced, as Patterson changed the lyrics a bit: "I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I never saw The Clash! But I sure saw Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band!" of course the crowd loved that.  It was a truly great show. I think I liked it more than the last time I saw them, but I don't know if it tops the Brooklyn Bowl show.

I have to mention the great opening act, Alejandro Escovedo, he totally rocked. I listen to his music on SiriusXM Outlaw Country, and this reminded me that I have to pick up some of his albums.  He did a great version of Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane" and also my favorite song of his, "Castanets" ("Always A Friend" - a duet with Bruce from his latest album - probably would have gone over well, had he played it). I was glad to have the opportunity to see him perform, it was a good reminder that he's a great, and under appreciated, American singer/songwriter.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS - "GO-GO BOOTS"

I write a hell of a lot about The Drive-By Truckers, they are one of my favorite groups in the world. I might go so far as to say that they are the best band in the world right now.  So, it's kind of a surprise that it's taken me a few weeks to review their latest album, Go-Go Boots.

The thing is, it usually takes me a few listens, a few days, maybe even a few weeks, to fully digest a new DBT album. Their albums are full on experiences, like Skynyrd's or Springsteen's were, or even The Replacements.  Those are the bands I most often compare The Drive-By Truckers to.

At first, I wasn't sure I loved this album as much as last year's The Big To-Do, which was my favorite album of 2010. But when I first heard that one, I wasn't sure I liked it as much as 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark.

So let me just say that Go-Go Boots is (yet) another incredible album. I understand that it was recorded at the same time as Big To-Do, but it definitely has a different vibe. It is a bit quieter, but also a bit darker. That said, my favorite song is a cover of Eddie Hinton's "Everybody Needs Love," which isn't so dark. I'd never heard that song - and I'm not sure I'd even heard of Eddie Hinton - before the Truckers released   a double A-sided 7" single, volume 2 in a series of tribute singles to Hinton.  Both songs ("Everybody Needs Love," sung by Patterson Hood, and "Where's Eddie," sung by Shonna Tucker) are on Boots. Sometimes I don't like when an album is built around a cover, but in this case, they aren't banking on the song's familiarity, it's the opposite: both songs are so great, and yet so obscure, that by bringing them to a bigger audience, everybody wins.

"Everybody Needs Love" is my favorite song on the album.  But it's all good, another one that stands out is "I Used To Be A Cop." If it were an acoustic song, it would belong on Springsteen's Nebraska. But I'll say it may belong on side four of The River instead. It's that good.

Patterson Hood often gets more attention than the rest of the band, and fair enough, he's often the one doing the interviews and communicating with fans online and via liner notes. But Mike Cooley is an equally good writer, and on this album, he seems to be heading in more of a classic country direction.  "Cartoon Gold" is a great song. In my mind, I could hear Willie Nelson covering it.  "The Weakest Man" could be a hit for one of country music's elder statesmen, like George Strait or Alan Jackson.

I've heard rumblings that the band may take an extended break after this album's tour wraps up. Fair enough, they've been touring and recording incessantly for the past few years. It's a bummer, I feel like I just started with the band, but these guys have been working hard for a long time. I do believe (ahem) that the world will catch up to them, and when they come back, they will be bigger than ever (hey, it happened with Primus). When I go to concerts today, I often wonder if the artist who I'm seeing will still be around in ten years.  I say that I'll be seeing DBT in twenty.

(by the way, let me take this moment to point out that without SiriusXM's Outlaw Country, I might not have become the big Drive-By Truckers fan that I am.  Yes, I work at SiriusXM, but Outlaw Country was one of the reasons I subscribed before I worked there - Underground Garage was another compelling reason.)  Also, let me give a little shout to Alabama Ass Whuppin', a great blog that covers the band way more comprehensively than I do.

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."

BEST OF 2010 - #1! - THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS "THE BIG TO-DO"

When I first got The Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do in February, I didn't think any album this year would top it. I was right. The Truckers were one of my favorite bands of the '00s, and they are dominating this decade so far as well (I'm looking forward to their next album, Go-Go Boots, which comes out in February of 2011!).

I've written a lot about the band and this album, but I'll add to what I've said by saying that I think that singer/songwriter/guitarist Patterson Hood has an eye for detail on par with Bruce Springsteen or Steve Earle. He is really one of the greatest. He tells the greatest stories in his songs.

That said, some of my favorite songs by DBTs are by singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike Cooley, who reminds me a bit more of Tom Petty - he doesn't show as much detail.  Although "Birthday Boy" is really detailed. But I also love when singer/songwriter/bassist Shonna Tucker takes the mic.

Hood seems to be the band's main spokesperson though, and in the liner notes to the album (he writes liner notes!) he says, and I quote, "I grew up worshipping Rock and Roll like a religion. I know its shortcomings and strengths but have loved it unconditionally all the same since I was eight years old... I'm still as obsessed as I was as a boy.  I'm not a kid anymore but I still remember how it felt and it doesn't really feel all that different to me now." That's kind of what I've been trying to say for four years on this blog. Thank you Patterson.  I'm going to see my first Drive-By Truckers show later this month, and I can't wait. It'll be the first of many.  A lot of the artists who I love, who I follow, and who I write about, are slowing down.  And so am I. But as long as the Truckers are on the road, I'll be going to the Rock Shows.