The support act on the night were the 4 piece Heartless Bastards, who also supported the Drive-by Truckers back in 2004 according to vocalist Erika Wennerstrom. They are a garage, rock, grunge band from Cincinnati, Ohio, and they started the night off at around 7:30, running through a short, energetic, pumped up set. I really enjoyed the guitar work by both Erika and Mark Nathan and the extended live work out on several of their songs, particularly Simple Feeling, got the sparse crowd energised. Jesse Ebaugh (bass) and Dave Colvin (drums) kept things pounding along purposefully and many of the audience seemed enthusiastic and appreciative of the set. I also liked the final number, Low Low Low I think, which had a heavy country feel to it and it brought the first part of the gig to a fine ending.
By now the hall was starting to fill up and the age range was as diverse as I have seen for a while, a sure sign that the main event appeals to all comers! Also, and against current trends, the DBTs bounded onto the stage at about 20:40, some twenty minutes earlier than might have been expected. Patterson Hood later advised that their previous gig had had a tight curfew and that explained the eager start, they had a lot to get through after all!
So with a new album to promote, their tenth since 1998's debut Gangstabilly, it was perhaps inevitable that they would kick things off with track one from the current record English Oceans. What was immediately obvious was just how much Jay Gonzalez adds to the live sound. His guitar and keyboard work was fantastic and really augmented the sound, filling out, lifting up, driving on and generally enhancing the sonic experience. When one considers the ability of both Patterson and Mike on guitar, that is a compliment indeed.
The two front men traded songs, each singing lead in turn and occasionally helping out on duets and this is another of the bands real plus points for me. Mike and Patterson have very strong and distinctly different voices and so they can tell very different stories within the same band structure. Another major plus is the 3 three guitar set up which also allows great diversity to emerge in any given song. Indeed in several songs, Hell No, I Ain't Happy, Ronnie & Neil and Grand Canyon as examples, the trading between Mike, Jay and Patterson was mesmeric and awesome. I guess modelling oneself on Lynyrd Skynyrd makes great sense even if you call yourselves "Betamax Guillotine"!
So, for those who are new to the Drive-By Truckers, here is a brief précis: Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley formed the band in 1996 in that hot bed of music ingenuity Athens, Georgia (sometimes called the Liverpool of the South) and home to R.E.M and the B 52's amongst others and a cauldron for Appalachian bluegrass. The two lads had previously been members of Adam's House Cat, and an album called Town Burned Down exists and I would urge you to check it out if possible as you can hear the seeds of what was to blossom in to DBTs. Over the intervening years folk have come and gone and they all added to the band as they built their reputation. I would like to highlight two former members in particular, (formerly husband and wife) singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Isbell (who will be in Glasgow on 17 May 2014) and bassist and vocalist Shonna Tucker of whom Hood said "her charm and spark will be irreplaceable and her part in our last decade of this band's history is indisputable." I for one will miss her vocal talents as her singing added another glorious dimension to the ensemble (check out her wonderful rendition of the Eddie Hinton song Where's Eddie from the Go-Go Boots album). So that brings us to today's lineup: Patterson Hood – guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, mandolin (1996 – present), Mike Cooley – guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, harmonica (1996 – present), Brad Morgan – drums (1999 – present), Jay Gonzalez – keyboards, guitar, vocals (2008 – present), Matt Patton – bass, vocals (2012 – present) and a damned fine band they make too in my humble opinion!
Next out the traps was When He's Gone on which Jay played some wonderful organ parts and my companion Nadia (a DBTs virgin!) said it reminded her of Neil Young which is not surprising as the great man gets a few name checks in the band's back catalogue, not least star billing on Ronnie & Neil on which Mike played some grand guitar with added "wah wah"!
(Check out this link to an article about the song:)
I would also like to highlight Jay's keyboard work, both piano and organ, on Drag The Lake Charlie, Primer Coat, 72 (This Highway's Mean) and Marry Me on which he played piano left handed and guitar right!
Another stand out for me was Putting People On The Moon during which Brad, looking like a latter-day Otis Gibbs (if that's possible!), played some mighty fine, steady, stentorian drumming on the extended workout. The song includes the following lyrics:
“Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin’ cancer every year
And we can’t afford no insurance, I been 10 years unemployed
So she didn’t get no chemo so our lives they was destroyed
And nothing ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA’s shut down too
Another joker in the White House, said a change was coming ‘round
but I’m still working at the Wal-Mart and Mary Alice in the ground.”
This brings me to another thing that attracts me to this band, the lyrics. They are often thought provoking (as above), laugh out loud as in Cartoon Gold or Get Downtown, or just telling stories about weird and wonderful folks as in When Walter Went Crazy or Drag The Lake Charlie.
Meanwhile, Matt Patton keep the beat rocking along as he worked up a sweat pounding out rhythms on his bass. I really enjoyed his playing on Uncle Frank and Grand Canyon and his playing and backing vocals on Hell No, I Ain't Happy added an extra dimension to the song which also included three great guitar solos from Jay, Patterson and Mike.
There was also a rather surreal moment during Girls Who Smoke when the lighting crew shone lights on the oversized glitter ball suspended above our heads sending shards of light out amongst the audience picking out a shaved head here, a grey haired old gezzer there and numerous bouncin' an boppin' folk all having a great time. Then The guys took us back to the early days with Ronnie & Neil, 72 (This Highway's Mean) and 18 Wheels Of Love which Patterson dedicated to his wife Rebecca and his Mum (for Mother's Day) and her man Chester, a DBTs fan. This nostalgic episode extended into the encore when the band played three more older tunes including Let There Be Rock during which Patterson sang that he never saw the Clash, but he did see the Replacements and R.E.M! Then coming full circle they closed with the last song from the current album Grand Canyon. This turned into a lengthy mesmerising number and at one point Jay and Patterson were sitting on the stage trading guitar licks and rasping guitar necks over each other! As the instrumental part of the song became mantra-esque Patterson took his leave, followed shortly thereafter by Mike leaving the rest of the guys to play out the song. Then Jay set his guitar up to produce fuzzed up feed back and he too left the stage allowing Brad and Matt to pound out an accompanying beat. We were groovin', movin', ecstatic and exhilarated as Matt took his bow and headed off stage right leaving Brad to hold the beat under a blaze of light, then finally he too, left us as Jay's guitar continued to feed back and the lights went down on a wonderful night of great lyrics, wonderful singing, fantastic guitar playing, fabulous keyboards, energetic bass and beat perfect drumming. The audiences were delighted and we all trudged out onto Sauchiehall Street eagerly discussing the personal highlights from a memorable gig. One that will surely be a year highlight.
Cheers lads, and haste ye back.
20:40
Shit Shots Count
When He's Gone
Gravity's Gone
Drag The Lake Charlie
Primer Coat
My Sweet Annette
Uncle Frank
Putting People On The Moon
Made Up English Oceans
Girls Who Smoke
Hearing Jimmy Loud
Ronnie & Neil
72 (This Highway's Mean)
18 Wheels Of Love
Marry Me
Hell No, I Ain't Happy
22:02
Encore
22:09
3 Dimes Down
Let There Be Rock
Zip City
Grand Canyon
22:35
No comments:
Post a Comment