Drive-By Truckers on stage at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, DE. |
The 11th studio album, American Band, came out back in September but took on new meaning and a longer shelf life after the election. The night after the election, the Truckers played at the Union Transfer in Philly, a show I would have loved to attend, especially with the implications of the night before. Watch the show in its entirety here. The Drive-By Truckers are one of the more politically engaged bands I've seen and never shy away from hiding their liberalism. The lyrics off the new album ask questions and try to tackle the issues of the Confederate flag, gun violence, racism, and immigration.
Hiss Golden Messenger opened the show and were better live than what I heard on their albums. With his knees bent, frontman MC Taylor slowly marched in place to keep the beat. Most of the songs were slow and on the verge of boring. However, there were some engaging points in the performance. Multi-instrumentalist Phil Cook stole the show with his captivating lead on piano, exuberant guitar and electric sitar solos, and not to forget his mesmerizing harmonica playing while on the piano.
My first listen to the Drive-By Truckers was off the new record. I fell in love with it and couldn't stop listening. Not only did it rock, but it stood for something that many people are feeling right now. As I listened to older material and dug into the history of the band, I discovered the genius of the band with their concept albums, Southern Rock Opera and Decoration Day, as well as their time with Jason Isbell. It is hard enough as a musician to write good material, but to have not one but two concept albums is ambitious to say the least. Every song is intertwined and tells a story as a whole. Isbell's contributions to the band can not be understated and his time with the band was probably the best years of Drive-By Truckers. Isbell reunited with the band for "Heathens" back in January at the Ryman Auditorium in Tennessee. On June 19, Isbell will be playing at The Fillmore in Philly to promote his new album, The Nashville Sound. It should be a fantastic show that I'm definitely interested in.
This band was made to play during one of the roughest and most divided times in American history. However, the band would probably refer to it as a blessing and a curse. The title of the new album is no mistake as the Drive-By Truckers are now America's band the American band we all need.
Setlist:
Hiss Golden Messenger:
Drive-By Truckers:
1. Baggage
2. Surrender Under Protest
3. Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn
4. Uncle Frank
5. This Fucking Job
6. Shit Shots Count
7. Ronnie and Neil
8. Ramon Casiano
9. Ever South
10. Zip City
11. Sink Hole
12. First Air of Autumn
13. Guns of Umpqua
14. Filthy and Fried
15. Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife
16. A Ghost to Most
17. Buttholeville (with Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper" interlude)
18. Kinky Hypocrite
19. The KKK Took My Baby Away (The Ramones cover)
20. Gimme Some Truth (John Lennon cover)
21. Once They Banned Imagine
22. What It Means
23. 3 Dimes Down
24. Let There Be Rock
25. Shut Up and Get on the Plane
26. Hell No, I Ain't Happy
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