Drive-By Truckers/The Hold Steady tour

[NewRider]

You should've seen Drive-By Truckers shows back in the Horseshoe days. The only girls were bar staff!

[Kanada Kev]

i'm having trouble hearing this thread. what?!?

I hear ya ... well, no not really ... you're kinda muffled like everything else today!!!

Rock and Roll lives with the DBT ... LOVE IT. They truly kickass in the live setting and their lighting was well done too. Really added to the rock and roll experience.

THS have a great presence on stage. The lead singer is wild (and he looks a bit like Basher ). The only thing that was a bit of a drag is that the vocals for THS get a little lost in the sound mix and you don't get the clarity of the words.

rock on.

next up, Lanois on Friday :)

[tinatoledo]

best show ever!

[NewRider]

best show ever!

[elemeno]

best show in a long time.

schwa says to the cop who pulled us over last night "this is my car misoffer" .

great to see so many peeps.

thanks for being DD last night Brian.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Guest

[questcequecest?]

haha. hope you didn't get a ticket.

when i arrived at the parking lot pre-show, i was so happy to see everyone i forgot to buy a parking ticket. anyhow, i got off lucky... free parking!

[Ol'Hickster]

I had a great time last night! first time ive seen the truckers live and they blew me away!! they were amazing! I cant waqit till the next show! the hold steady were great aswell, but I agree with you Kev you couldnt quite make out what he was saying. Great to see everyone out too! Ill tell yea my alarm clock going off this morning at 5:45 sucked! but the day of work is over and im looking forward to some sleep ! What a wild night!

[Northern Wish]

Thanks to all for making it an excellent adventure. After THS, DBT kind of underwhelmed me (if thats a word, I know its not cause I looked it up).

Great to see so many peeps last night that I haven,t seen in ages.

Can't wait to get the show from Brad!

I actually had my first hangover in years today, with a pounding headache. I guess a pitcher of beer is not really a "dinner".

Sean

[bradm]

I set up a torrent of my recording of The Hold Steady:

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=520111

Aloha,

Brad

[AD]

Review and tons of photos from Chromewaves

[Cully]

I am not a fan of the Phoenix at all. The sound was terrible, the layout is bad, and they only had 4 bartenders working a SOLD OUT show!!! Boo urns.

The bands were great though, although I didn't hear one lyric from the Hold Steady. I felt the Truckers blew them out of the water....amazing set! It was so great to see so many familiar faces. Rock on everyone, rock on.

[Schwa.]

i thought the sound for truckers was alright....and nice and loud! fuck yeah.

[Kanada Kev]

What? What'd you say?

[Kanada Kev]

Review and tons of photos from Chromewaves

Thanks AD. Good review. Awesome pics!

[hamilton]

I am not a fan of the Phoenix at all. The sound was terrible, the layout is bad, and they only had 4 bartenders working a SOLD OUT show!!! Boo urns.

I'm not a big fan of the Phoenix either - mostly because the sound is frequently mediocre and the security can be arbitrarily prickish. I'm not sure how the layout can be bad, though. I mean, it's just a big rectangle - not overly wide, but reasonably deep (the opposite of the much more problematic Warehouse or whatever it is called now, which is too wide and not deep enough). Plus, the balcony at the back is nice if you get up there.

[boiler]

The article didn't mention this fucking guy once and only managed to show one photo of him. John Neff is an amazing player on that Les Paul, not to mention his amazing psychedelic steel playing. Thumbs up to John Neff, don't let the clean cut look fool you, this guy rocks.

And I’m pleased to note that while things got suitably rowdy for both sets (moreso for the Truckers), it wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as I’d feared heading in. Except that little dude with the tattoo.

I wonder who that could be? Only one person I can think of.

[boiler]

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/1.906244

Hold Steady and Truckers bring integrity back to rock

Josh Zeidel

Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008

Updated: Thursday, November 13, 2008

“Rock and roll saved my life as a teenager, and it’s still saving my life today!†crowed Patterson Hood, singer of Drive-By Truckers, to a rambunctious crowd at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Boston this past Sunday night. In a move congruent with this Southern rock band’s sincerity, Hood took a moment mid-song to address the crowd, testifying with unabashed openness about a troubled past and how music kept him going through difficult times as a young man.

The theme of integrity persisted throughout this double header concert that brought together two very different styles of contemporary rock: the sprawling, down-home swagger of Drive-By Truckers’ alternative country followed by the post-punk-meets-bar-rock thunder of The Hold Steady. Playing to a packed house of about 2,500 in the Orpheum, a classy, older-style venue, both bands shook the rafters and kept fans engaged throughout the evening, which marked the bands’ 10th stop on the “Rock and Roll Means Well†tour.

Despite holding the opening spot, Drive-By Truckers proved themselves to be just as much an integral part of the show as The Hold Steady, playing with confidence, tightness and a knack for arrangement not frequently seen in an opening act. Guitarists Hood and Mike Cooley traded lead vocal duties, with backup harmonies and a few fronting performances by bassist Shonna Tucker. Harkening back to their Southern rock forebears Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers Band, Cooley, Hood and third guitarist John Neff all seemed comfortable sharing the spotlight, swapping solos with relish.

The Truckers proved their versatility, incorporating horns and keyboards in songs that ranged from upbeat rockers like “Marry Me,†to darker ballads such as “Zip City,†to minor blues two-steps like “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy.†Lyrics emphasized the importance of candor in story telling; Cooley and Hood do not gloss over their narratives of life in the South, nor do they apologize. As they closed a 90-minute set with the anthemic “Let There Be Rock,†the band ad-libbed a refrain: “I’d like to say I’m sorry/ but I ain’t f--ing sorry!â€

At 9:40 p.m., The Hold Steady took the stage with even greater gusto. Exploding into its set with the frenetic “Stay Positive,†the title track of its latest album, this rock-reviving band from Brooklyn looked ready to jump off the stage with an enthusiasm that proved immediately infectious to the audience. The crowd stayed on their feet throughout most of The Hold Steady’s set, jumping, dancing and singing along with the hilariously spastic yet unlikely-looking front-man Craig Finn.

With pianist Franz Nicolay and guitarist Tad Kubler singing harmonies, the five-piece band performed several fan favorites from previous albums, but predominantly focused on material from this past summer’s release, “Stay Positive.†Finn slipped on his own lyrics on two occasions, but shrugged it off both times and continued his gruff monologue with determination and spirit, narrating stories about sex, substances, religion, music and love.

Instrumentally, The Hold Steady did not disappoint, incorporating a guest horn section with a consistent rhythm section that provided the basis for impressive keyboard work by Nicolay. Kubler displayed his usual classic rock prowess, whether he was wailing out impressive solos on a double-neck guitar for the Skynyrd-esque ballad “Lord, I’m Discouraged,†or busting driving, blues-rock riffs for the humorous and rowdy “You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came to the Dance With).†Finn’s lyrics, frequently alluding to the state of Massachusetts, resonated with the audience, many of whom turned out from his alma mater, Boston College.

For an encore, several members of Drive-By Truckers joined The Hold Steady on stage to perform an acoustic number, “Both Crosses,†followed by a boisterous cover of The Band’s “Look Out Cleveland.†Both bands’ narrative lyrical style meshed in the multi-perspective tale “Chill-Out Tent,†about a boy and a girl — sung by Drive-By Truckers’ Hood and Tucker, respectively — who meet and hook up in the first aid station of a music festival “up in Western Massachusetts†after separately suffering mild drug overdoses.

The performances of both bands underscored the importance of integrity and passion in rock-and-roll lyricism, as well as the joy of performing music. Few shows in this era feature an opener and a closer that are not only musically and lyrically compatible, but also clearly enjoy each others’ company and are inspired by each others’ work. Finn drew this theme to the spotlight as he paused in the middle of the band’s traditional encore-closer “Killer Parties†to quote the Drive-By Truckers lyric from “Marry Me†that has given this tour its title: “A wiser man than me once said this/ but I’m wise enough to repeat it: ‘Rock and roll means well/ But it can’t help telling young boys lies.’ We’ve had a great time here tonight/ thanks to all of you for coming out to share in that with us.â€

[Cully]

I'm not sure how the layout can be bad, though. I mean, it's just a big rectangle - not overly wide, but reasonably deep (the opposite of the much more problematic Warehouse or whatever it is called now, which is too wide and not deep enough). Plus, the balcony at the back is nice if you get up there.

The place has no character at all, the bars are positioned very poorly, and the sightlines are terrible. It also feels like they haven't cleaned the bathrooms since the 80s...

[Schwa.]

that's part of the charm i personally had no problem with the place except for THS's sound. we were even able to drink/smoke in the lot with absolutely no hassles.

I agree with the columnist there fully, thought DBT owned that show.

[Booche]

Kev, you just made my morning. The 'pissing in the living room' story is becoming clearer by the day.

[The D Funk]

Here is a link to a video I made of Three Dimes Down- It turned out great!!

Wish I could see these guys more often.

[dcaley]

if anyone collects multiple sources (16bit / 24bit), my recordings are available here. dbt's is also here.