Drive-by Truckers play it straight at First Avenue

Drive-by Truckers’ albums have not been consistent since the departure of Jason Isbell in 2007.  Yet the passion the band continually brings to the stage is always resolute, oftentimes only wavering with how drunk the band seems to be.  On Wednesday, October 25th, 2011, the Drive-by Truckers were all business, plowing through the mainroom at First Avenue to a  near-capacity crowd that was treated to an absolute gem of a performance.

Those Darlins, a four-piece band led by three bouncing women from Murfreesboro, TN, started the night off with engines full-throttle.  Their mix a punk and country was simply assembled, but the energy behind each song made up for any lack in chops.  Lead vocalist, Jessi Darlin, ripped out each song so wide-eyed that it was hard not to be intrigued.  And bassist/guitarist, Kelley Darlin, played her part as well, blonde hair flailing about as she jumped around the stage with her guitar swinging.  Overall, Those Darlins’ set was entertaining, and a nice warm up for the southern-rocking, Drive-by Truckers.

Drive-by Truckers hit the stage and opened with “I Do Believe” from their 2011 release, Go Go Boots.  Next up were the high-octane classics, “Marry Me”, “Sinkhole” and the mean “Where the Devil Don’t Stay”.  The remainder of  the set stayed consistently mid-tempo only picking up towards the end before the band exploded during a wailing eight song encore.  I witnessed some of the best Drive-by Truckers I have ever seen during that main set.

Singer/guitarist, Patterson Hood, pulled heart strings with his genuine earnestness as he spoke of his great-uncle, George A. (George Albert Johnson), who had passed away the day before at the age of 91.  Storytelling has always come easy to Hood, as evidenced by many of his songs.  So at first, hearing him discuss his uncle who helped raise him didn’t seem overly touching, but the emotion that poured through the slowed and drawn out version of “Sands of Iwo Jima” that followed was incredibly moving.  Patterson wrote “Sands of Iwo Jima” as a tribute to George A. for the Drive-by Truckers’ 2004 masterpiece, The Dirty South.  The song describes how his uncle was drafted and served in the south Pacific during World War II, and how he never saw John Wayne there (who acted in the movie with the same title as the song).  Guitarist, Mike Cooley, added harmonica and from that song on, the band and audience seemed completely in sync.

Towards the end of the set, the tempo picked up with guitarist, Mike Cooley, taking the reigns for “Three Dimes Down” and Patterson Hood singing a raucous “Buttholeville”.  It was nearing midnight when the band returned for a massive eight song encore.  One after another, the band pounded through with high energy.  “Let There Be Rock” was especially awesome as Patterson made everyone in the crowd believe that rock-n-roll really did save his life, as he crawled about the front of the stage.

He finally invited Kelley Darlin from Those Darlins out to end the night with the Jim Carroll cover, “People Who Died”.  By this time, a bottle of Patron tequila was being passed around the stage and to fans in the front.  Everyone in the crowd who remained after the over two and a half hour performance had their fists up and were dancing along.  It was a fitting finale to an incredibly spot on show by one of the best rock bands around.  The Drive-by Truckers’ albums may not be what the once were, but their live show still proves they are at the top of their game.  This night was something special.

Photos taken for music blog, Reviler.  Check it out!

Drive-by Truckers

 

Those Darlins

Drive-by Truckers – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN 10.25.11 Setlist:
I Do Believe
Marry Me
Sinkhole
Where the Devil Don’t Stay
Go Go Boots
Birthday Boy
Dancin’ Ricky
Righteous Path
Ghost to Most
Sands of Iwo Jima
Paluski
Everybody Needs Love
Love Like This
The Living Bubba
Women Without Whiskey
Used To Be a Cop
Three Dimes Down
Buttholeville

Encore:
Self-Destructive Zones
Mercy Buckets
Zip City
Let There Be Rock
Get Downtown
Hell No I Ain’t Happy
Shut Up & Get on the Plane
People Who Died (Jim Carroll cover)