Have you ever wondered what a hundred tons of diesel-fueled ?aming wreckage hurdling down the midnight interstate, searing and destroying everything in its path sounds like? I’d venture to say it might sound something like the Drive-By Truckers, the modern day heralds of the southern rock gospel, and they’re barreling into town tonight to perform at the Bama Theater.
The Drive-By Truckers, hailing from the fruitful little Athens, Ga. music scene that is home to huge acts like R.E.M. and Widespread Panic, took up the southern rock torch in 1996 on a quest to bring wit, honesty and artistry to a genre generally looked down upon and overlooked by music critics worldwide. Their unique brand of southern rock and alternative country marries whiskey-drenched southern jams with incredibly witty songwriting. Tunes vary from heavy, raucous, riff-?lled late night raggers to softer country ballads, and each style is nailed with ?nesse. The lyrics teeter between poetic and crass, often being both at the same time, but they almost always re?ect the Truckers? love of all things Southern.
This is most apparent in their pivotal 2001 release, Southern Rock Opera, which is exactly that. The album is a two-disc concept album entirely about the trials and rewards of living in the South. The general focus of the album is to portray what it is to be a Southern man raised in a turbulent South and all the good and bad things that go along with it. It covers everything from the dark days of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham to the love-hate relationship of Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd?s Ronnie Van Zandt. Other songs bring the subject matter much more down to earth with relatable tales of Southern nostalgia and the everyday grind.
Regardless of the topics at hand, the Truckers? primary songwriters Patterson Hood and (formerly) Jason Isbell set out to dispel rumors about the misunderstood South and replace them with a true, gritty, and most importantly honest image of the South we have come to know through experience. The Truckers have certainly accomplished this, and all with a greater degree of intelligence and variety in songwriting that is quite unusual for the style of music that they play.
Tonight, the Drive-By Truckers make a pit stop in Tuscaloosa once again. You can purchase tickets to the show at www.drivebytruckers.com for $18 before the show and $23 at the door and the party starts at 9 p.m. and lasts until you overdose on the purest rock riffery around. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold will go towards disaster relief for the many still in need of aid from tornado damage.
