My Attorney Reviews the Recent Drive By Truckers Show(s)

Well, PoP…I’ve been meaning to send you some thoughts on the
Drive-by Truckers two-night stand at the 9:30 Club last weekend, but
the week got crazy on me and flew by before I had a chance to throw
some brain drizzle down in an email. And now, almost a week removed I
figured what the hell…I still got their songs running through my
head…and so, why not, the hangover lasted 3 days.

A two-night Truckers stand is a dangerous thing…particularly for
guys our age and with our mileage! And we proved that in full on
Saturday night…investigating the very inner workings of “whiskey
bent” in a certain reckless, degenerate way befitting the music. My
ears rang for two days and I was feeling rough well into Tuesday.
Getting old ain’t much fun.

But fun is really the best way to describe a Truckers’ show at 9:30.
They remain the only band out today that I find myself yelling out the
words to every song at the top of my lungs until my voice gives out.
There is an original energy in those shows that is hard to describe
but damn fun to partake. Wailing guitars are part of it…drunken,
screaming and fired up fans certainly help…and the music is just so
damn good. I still think that their lyrics are the most original,
evocative you’ll find today. I swear I know some of the people in
those songs and if forced to admit it, I’d probably have to see some
parallels in a few instances of my own degenerate behavior once upon a
time. Review continues after the jump.

There is one thing that stands out above all else, though…and it hit
me again Saturday night, even through the whiskey-induced fog: those
guys just look like they are having a great time on stage, especially
Patterson Hood. When’s the last time you saw a musician smile and
laugh that much on stage? Hood just looks like he loves what he’s
doing up there and it is truly infectious. You can’t help get fired
up when you see him whirling around on stage like that and playing off
of the rest of the band. It really makes a huge difference to go to
show and see the band actually enjoy putting on the show as much as
DBT appears to be. The energy is palpable and it comes through in the
music. It kind of gives even an old scumbag lawyer like me carte
blanche to swill whiskey, belt out songs and cut loose…or at least
that is story I’m sticking to.

It was a flat-out great show and I’m glad the Truckers gave us a
two-night stand (even if my liver is less than pleased). A few hours
with the boys from Alabama is just what a person needs to blow out the
carbon that builds up from the daily drudgery and nonsense…just what
you need to “keep the wheels from rubbin’.”

Res Ipsa Loquitor,

Your Attorney