Live Review: Rock N' Roll Means Well Tour

Drive By Truckers/The Hold Steady
The Fillmore
San Francisco
11.23.08


The last time I caught the Drive By Truckers in concert they were opening up for the Black Crowes in Alpine, CA., and the potent combination of an early opening time slot and lack of crowd made for a show I'd rather forget.

Fast forward two years and I found myself on a crisp Sunday evening at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA. taking a much needed 4 hour break from reality. In a time when our national economy yo-yo's between recovery and collapse, the $30 ticket for the Rock 'n Roll Means Well tour would prove to have a solid ROI and a healthy elixir for the soul.

The Hold Steady kicked the evening off with their punked up Springsteen brand of rock, and while the crowd was populated by more Trucker fans than Hold Steady fans, the band's infectious energy won quite a few converts by the end of their set.

Lead singer/guitarist Craig Finn worked the crowd with his manic stage energy, throwing his whole body enthusiastically into each song much like Fugazi's Giu Picciotto would back in the day. Finn's Springsteen/narrator-style lyrics and delivery weren't my cup 'o tea, but I give the band credit for a lively, passionate stage show. Hell, a guy in a gorilla suit showed up on stage at one point. A for effort.

My ear's perked up when THS invited DBT's Patterson Hood to the stage for a casual and spirited rendition of "Burning for You" by Blue Oyster Cult. The crowd erupted at this point, and the smiles spread across all the musicians faces on stage indicated the good times were about to get even better.

DBT took the stage to loud applause. For year's I've read about amazing DBT shows in the Bay Area and whatever the connection is between the band, the Bay Area and their fans, the electricity in the air was apparent and it was time to take a deep swig of whiskey and let the rock show begin.

Ask any longtime DBT fan what it's like for the band to begin a show with "Zip City" off their classic Southern Rock Opera album and they'll most likely tell you it doesn't get much better. The band fired off a trio of songs from that album to begin the show. "Ronnie and Neil" had an appropriate Neil Young/Crazy Horse ragged, dirge-like vibe, followed by the Mike Cooley-sung "72" giving longtime fans a nice tip of the hat to some prime era Truckers.

Picking up the pace a bit, the driving rhythms of "February 14" was a nice surprise as pedal steel guitarist John Neff traded searing licks with Mike Cooley over drummer Brad Morgan's piledriving syncopation. Without pausing, the band sequed to "The Righteous Path" and kept the energy high and opened a selection of songs off this year's Brighter Than Creation's Dark album.

A show highlight was the filthy blues funk of "Goodes Field Road". The band took the songs' swampy groove and opened it up wide in the live setting, giving Patterson Hood the perfect foundation to spin one of his southern tales of misfits and criminals. Bassist Shonna Tucker took a spin on lead vocals on the Who'ish "Homefield Advantage" letting the band jam the song out for a bit.

"The Stroker Ace", Mike Cooley had many shining moments in the evening - "3 Dimes Down" layed down some greasy Keef Richards guitar licks while "Checkout Time in Vegas" and "Ghost to Most" were pure country rock heaven.

Singer Kelly Hogan joined the band for two numbers - " I'm Your Puppet" and a haunting version of "Angels and the Fuselage" that had me hearing Patterson and Hogan singing "I'm scared shitless of what's coming next" for days in my head.

Being in San Francisco, the appropriately titled "Steve McQueen" was a late set special treat, as was a cathartic performance of "Hell No, I Ain't Happy". The set ended with Cooley's "Marry Me" complete with the tour-naming and now famous lyrical line "Rock 'n roll means well, but it can't help telling young boys lies".

While I couldn't put my finger on it, the band was projecting a confidence I had not seen in past performances. Maybe confidence isn't the right word, but the Drive By Truckers had a presence on stage all night long. They were in complete control of their craft and it translated into a monster of a first set.

The encore was full of even more surprises: An powerful cover of Springsteen's "Adam Raised a Cain", Van Halen's classic "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" and Warren Zevon's "Play it All Night" complete with members of The Hold Steady sent the crowd into the stratosphere of rock 'n roll bliss before both groups knocked everyone in the building out with a vicious version of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died".

While The Hold Steady didn't win me over, both bands put on a hell of a show to give fans and new converts a transcendant Sunday night on the town. The Drive By Truckers played an amazing set of music that saw the band raise its game and deliver big time, leaving fans excited at the possibilities for the future.



Drive By Tuckers setlist:

Zip City
Ronnie and Neil
72
February 14
Righteous Path
Checkout Time in Vegas
Goode's Field Road
Ghost to Most
I'm Your Puppet (w/ Kelly Hogan)
Living Bubba
3 Dimes Down
Homefield Advantage
Lookout Mountain
Hell No, I Ain't Happy
Shut UP and Get on the Plane
Steve McQueen
Marry Me
Angels and Fuselage (w/ Kelly Hogan)

-encore-
Adam Raised a Cain (Springsteen)
Where the Devil Don't Stay
Let There Be Rock (w/ The Hold Steady)
Ain't Talkin' Bout Love (Van Halen w/ THS)
Play it All Night (Zevon w/ THS)
People Who Died (Jim Carroll w/ THS)

Check out Alabama Ass Whuppin's great collection of photos from the show here

What's Spinning?

So as we ride out the late summer lull between tours and album releases, lets take a few minutes to discuss what's been in rotation at HF headquarters:


Howlin' Rain - Magnificent Fiend. These guys are going to be opening up a bunch of shows for the Black Crowes and have a heavy 70s rock vibe. The lead singer hails from San Francisco noise veterans Comets on Fire. This is a more song structured affair, so if you are looking for noise jams, we will cover those in a few albums further down.


Buy from Amazon: Magnificent Fiend



King Khan & the Shrines - The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines. This is the party record you slap on the stereo around the midnight hour as you and your friends wish for Mick Jagger, Sly Stone and The Faces to break through your front door and perform in your living room.


Buy from Amazon:Supreme Genius of King Khan



The Hold Steady - Stay Positive. Can these guys get anymore critical praise? Dave, our close associate in all things rock 'n roll says, "If you don't like this album, there's something fucking wrong." Ripping guitars, thundering drums, E-Street shuffle piano and some of the most poetic and literate (two words you don't normally associate with rock) lyrics we've heard in a long time.


Buy from Amazon: Stay Positive



One Day as a Lion - One Day as a Lion e.p. Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine and ex Mars Volta drummer John Theodore team up to give fans the answer to just what the hell Zack has been doing for the last 8 years. Spitting out furious lyrics about the gov't and the general fucked up-ness of the world, One Day as Lion proves Zack's lost nothing since Rage stopped recording new albums.


Buy from Amazon: One Day As A Lion


Darker My Love - 2. Hailing from Los Angeles, Darker My Love mine similar sonic territory to Silversun Pickups, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Autolux and The Warlocks. Need to blow up your speakers with some white hot noise? Dim the lights, turn on the smoke machine and blast this album.


Buy from Amazon:2



Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha. The guys in Supergrass have been around a while, and Diamond Hoo Ha snuck up on us out of left field this summer. Overdriven guitars, big drums and vocalist Gaz Coombes oohing and ahhing all over the place make Diamond Hoo Ha a fun, loud record (do you see a pattern here with loud records being reviewed?). Strange these guys never really got bigger in the US. Oh well, at least we get to enjoy one of England's best bands from the 90s.

You guessed it, buy from Amazon: Diamond Hoo Ha