Friday, November 07, 2008

Rock n Roll Means Well: The Drive-By Truckers & The Hold Steady @ Terminal 5

The Drive-By Truckers; The Hold Steady
@ Terminal 5
New York, NY - November 6, 2008

A great week for America should, by all rights, include two of America's great signature sounding bands on their "Rock n Roll Means Well" tour. From the heart of the South come the stereotype smashing Drive-By Truckers, Alabama folk who make it OK for us Yankees to embrace a little bit of Dixie without the stench of trials & tribulations that have plagued other consciously-Southern bands (ahem, Lynyrd Skynyrd and uh...Lynyrd Skynyrd). Truly children of Muscle Shoals, as well as of the Dead and the Winter brothers and the immortal Allman Brothers, DBT have earned their stripes. Whether it be Patterson Hood's mix of Garcia-esque singing before punk-inflected vocal riffs or Mike Cooley's perfect southern alt-country twang (think Uncle Tupelo, John Hiatt, and a male Lucinda Williams all rolled into one), DBT crafts each song with a distinct purpose and no two songs sound alike, which is pretty significant considering how easy that can happen in this genre. The rockers work more than the slow ones, and the less jam the better, but that's this old Yankee's way, it doesn't take away from the talent.

Starting off with the ever relevant, "Stay Positive", the Hold Steady made sure to devote their set to the President-Elect. Tad Kubler wore a Bad Brains-style shirt that replaced that legendary band's name with you-know-who, and ol' Bobby on the drums simply wore a God Bless America t-shirt, reflecting the rediscovered patriotism flowing through the Fake America. Craig Finn said it was going to be a celebration and it sure was. "Massive Nights", "Banging Camp", and "Constructive Summer" were just a few of the anthems befitting the night. Though "Lord I'm Discouraged" probably didn't fit the sentiment, it was worth it for Koob's best solo.

And if it was a night for America (truly reflected in Patterson's story of his 88-year old great uncle putting away years of prejudice to vote for a black man), it was a night for the Gibson guitar company and a nice old man named Les Paul. Truly, if there was ever any doubt as to the best guitar in the whole damn world, those doubts can be squared well away thanks to this "Rock n Roll Means Well" tour.

And both bands playing "People Who Died" by New York's own Jim Carroll...well...how do you think it sounded?

This week should never end.

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1 Comments:

At November 8, 2008 at 7:08:00 AM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great piece!

I am certainly excited about what an Obama presidency will bring to our beleaguered nation. He is very articulate to be sure, and seemingly has the intellect and composure to be successful in the highest office of the most powerful nation on earth. However, I am a little skeptical about his level of experience, alleged ties to unsavory organizations and religious affiliations. I voted for him, primarily because of bitterness at the incompetence of the Bush administration. I remain disenfranchised with America so far in the 21st Century, and came across a political graphic that does a fairly good job in capturing this sentiment.

http://www.cafepress.com/usa21stcentury

 

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