By: Will McClain
 |
|
Drive-By Truckers - Photo by Alexa Jones
|
The Drive-By Truckers want you to know they’re not just some Southern-rock novelty act. With album titles like Southern Rock Opera and The Dirty South—not to mention their moniker—the Truckers had much to prove to the uninitiated when they ambled into town Wednesday in support of their latest effort, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark.
Before singing their first note, the Truckers took turns swigging from a big bottle of booze, an act seen as either sincerity or shtick, depending on one’s history with the band. However, from the first strains of their opening number it became clear that DBT are nothing short of genuine.
DBT’s backdrop—an iconic image of rocky desert peaks and a hot, waning sun—bathed the stage in a red glow. As the six-person crew, fronted by Patterson Hood, mashed out opening number “Puttin’ People on the Moon,” listeners struggled to trace the shrill wail of a harmonica that wasn’t there. Mike Cooley, who is all angular black hair and lank and could easily be mistaken for emo until he opens his mouth to sing, took over lead vocals on “3 Dimes Down” and stepped to center stage for a shredding guitar solo, with an air just short of bravado.
The first noticeable vocal drawl shone through on “Self Destructive Zones,” which drew an enthusiastic audience reaction; it is in steady rotation on 89.3 The Current (the evening’s sponsor). The tune’s lyrics bemoan the early ‘90s commercialization of angst rock, which left its practitioners “dead, fat or rich.”
The group rolled on through a set that juxtaposed blazing, Thin Lizzy-like multi-guitar jams with Southern twang and swagger. Amish-bearded drummer Brad Morgan’s one-two beats suggested horses clip-clopping through the venue, their riders offering onlookers a good natured tip of the hat.
Deeper into the set, the tear-in-your-beer drinking anthem “The Company I Keep,” had the crowd singing and swaying along, brought back to earth by the slow burn of “Ghost to Most” and the mournful creep of bassist Shonna Tucker’s “I’m Sorry Huston.”
 |
| Drive-By Truckers - Photo by Alexa Jones |
Between tunes, Hood entertained the audience with his tale of that day’s unfortunate encounter with US-Canadian border patrol. Apparently the band were detained for over four hours, but their moonshine (yes, moonshine) was never discovered.
Further standouts for the evening were barn burner “Ronnie and Neil” and ballad “The Living Bubba,” the latter seeing Hood fall to his knees, guitar blaring. Back-to-back offerings “72 (This Highway’s Mean)” and “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife” dropped like rain onto the window of a pickup truck—one could almost see the tumbleweed rolling down the desolate streets of Minneapolis.
The lengthy set wrapped with an encore sporting "18 Wheels of Love" and "Let There Be Rock" and cherry topped with a wicked cover of "People Who Died," by Jim Carroll.
At First Avenue on Wednesday, Drive-By Truckers proved themselves more John Wayne than Barney Fife, more a cohesive vision than rock theatrics. With the bands long and sometimes tumultuous history, if they seem to speak convincingly of the long, hard rock and roll road—it’s because they’ve been there. And when Mike Cooley shouted in the midst of “Zip City,” that “I ain’t got no good intentions,” it was a little hard to believe.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Drive-By Truckers
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus
