I've been a fan of Drive-By Truckers since about 1999 when I first heard their song, The Living Bubba, on MP3.com (remember when MP3.com used to be place to discover new talent? Anyway, I digress). Every time DBT came to the Seattle area I was out of town on business or on a family trip. Last year I told myself I was going to see DBT the next time they came to town… no matter what! I saw Patterson Hood (co-founder of DBT) in a great solo show last fall and that clinched the deal for seeing them live. When DBT announced their Homefront Tour, I got myself a ticket the moment they went on sale. Sadly, neither my wife nor friends are into DBT, so I was going to go it solo. The Showbox has a capacity of about 1200 and it was packed.
The Felice Brothers opened. I had never heard of them, so I checked out their myspace site ( http://www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers ). I liked what I heard. The music is generally acoustic guitar, with some fiddle, accordion, bass & drums on some songs. The vocals are very reminiscent of Bob Dylan and what few songs I heard were interesting and literate. I read some reviews and they are described as Folk or Americana. I was a little unsure of how they'd translate live, but I'm open to new bands. Well, I'm now a fan. They put on a raucous, high-energy, 45 minute set. The live arrangements are very band-oriented and in a style I almost want to think of as Cajun. I could be wrong, but that's what came to my mind. Washboard percussion has been added and the percussionist/violinist/fiddle player also has a piece of corrugated metal on the stage that he uses for extra percussive emphasis. Accordion/keys play a bigger role in the live music too. The band (three Felice brothers and two friends) were having a blast. I can't say they were the tightest band I've seen. In fact they were somewhat rough around the edges at times, but they were having fun and it was infectious! I picked up their CD (Tonight At The Arizona, which has several bonus tracks not available on the original release of the same name) and gave it several listens yesterday. Very different from their live show and their music is growing on me. They are worth a listen folks.
Here are some photos I took of The Felice Brothers: http://scottremmons.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!4C015B39CE0DB8B2!150/
Drive-By Truckers ( http://drivebytruckers.com/ ; http://www.myspace.com/drivebytruckers ) hit the stage at 10:30 and … well … they owned the place from start to finish. The band line-up has changed a bit in the last year or so. Jason Isbell left the band for a solo career. I was disappointed because some of my favorite DBT songs are by Jason and I knew I would not hear them. Oh well. On the other hand, Spooner Oldham, who has played with Patterson's father (David Hood of Muscle Shoals bass fame) for 40 years was supporting the band on the Wurlitzer (Spooner has contributed keys on some DBT albums too). John Neff, who is a great pedal steel guitar player and has played on some DBT albums, has apparently joined the band. It turns out that he's pretty darn good at rhythm and lead on electric guitar too. DBT came out and just blasted into their songs. No set list. Patterson and the rest of the band basically looking at each other, nodding and launching into song, after song, after song. There was a little banter with the crowd. A bit of chit chat, from time to time, but basically the band was there to play and play they did. They played songs from as far back as their first album Gangstabilly (18 Wheels of Love was one of the set closers) and second album Pizza Deliverance (The Night G.G. Allen Came To Town). Both of those songs have a monologue to them and crowd loves it. The set included many songs from their new album (Brighter Than Creation's Dark) including: Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, The Opening Act, The Man I Shot and Lisa's Birthday; Shonna Tucker sang two of her first three contributions to a DBT album (I'm Sorry Huston & Home Field Advantage); Mike Cooley and Patterson traded off lead vocals throughout the night. I lost track, but I think they played at least half the nineteen songs off their new album and a bunch of songs from all their previous albums. The show ended at 1:00 AM! Whew! Close to two and a half hours of music (and the ticket was only $20!).
DBT have played together for many years and they've been relentless about touring. It shows. This band is tight. As mentioned before, Shonna contributed and sang on three songs on their most recent album. Shonna has provided back-up vocals, but these songs are her first steps into the singing and songwriting limelight. Shonna has a lovely, country twang to her voice and I believe she's going to add a great counterpoint to Patterson and Mike's vocals. I look forward to hearing more from her. A special nod to John Neff. John did not interact with the audience much, but I heard some very fine pedal steel playing. I was standing right in front on him and several times told him that was some of the finest playing I had ever heard. At least I got a nod and a smile out of him.
Here are some photos I took of Drive-By Truckers: http://scottremmons.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!4C015B39CE0DB8B2!163/
I really don't understand why this band is not more popular… or maybe I'm thankful for it :). I sometimes wonder if people think their songs speak too much to the ‘southern way of life'. My family grew up in a moderately sized city (25/30K) in California and we were at least an hour away from the nearest large city. Not isolated by any means, but you knew a lot of people in town, you shopped at the family-owned businesses and knew the farmers in the community. Maybe that's why their songs speak to me. To me, DBT speak of community, family, urban sprawl, politics and a host of other subjects that are relevant to everyone. If you want to hear some great country-/southern-influenced rock & roll and want to see a great live band, I recommend seeing DBT.
BTW, At various stages The North Mississippi Allstars, the Felice Brothers and The Whigs are supporting acts on the DBT tour.
