Review & Photos | Drive-By Truckers | Napa

Words and Images by: James Martin

Drive-By Truckers :: 4.25.15 :: Uptown Theatre :: Napa, CA

Read James’ review after the photo gallery.

Typically known for their high-energy “rock shows,” Drive-By Truckers decided to strip down to the acoustic level for their current The Dirt Underneath Tour. The last time the Truckers went on an acoustic tour was 2007, so Saturday evening at the historic Uptown Theatre in Napa, California was undoubtedly special, which you could feel in the energy of the crowd. It was an impressive night of Drive-By Trucker originals smattered with a couple covers.

The show began with the band walking on stage, their main light source old lamps lacking lampshades, a yellowish rustic glow emanating from the Edison bulbs creating an intimate, almost cozy mood. The crowd gave a warm welcome as the guys sat down and got comfortable. They started off the night with Patterson Hood singing “Grand Canyon” followed by Mike Cooley singing “Check Out Time in Vegas.”

Hood and Cooley belted out vocals, seemingly taking turns at lead every other song, with the rest of the band following their path. Drummer Brad Morgan, who usually bangs his drums with abandon, downplayed the rhythm section without being unheard and Jay Gonzalez accompanied the acoustic arrangements beautifully between his keyboard, Hammond B3 organ and occasionally adding his own guitar. Bass player Matt Patton seemed to be having the most fun, grinning throughout the show.

Hood dedicated “Heathens” to Wes Freed for his birthday, an artist who has created Drive-By Truckers’ album art and other graphics for the band since 2001. The crowd was also treated to a loose rendition of Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets.” After the song prompted a sing-along, Cooley talked about hanging with Mojo Nixon a couple nights earlier and stated that Mojo was wrong, that “everything that’s wrong in this world is because people don’t have enough Elton in them,” which I can only assume was a reference to Mojo saying that about Elvis Presley. The first set ended with “Marry Me,” followed by a quick set break.

Throughout the second set stories continued to flow, and the band showed no signs of slowing down. During DBT classic “The Sands of Iwo Jima,” a hauntingly beautiful tale of World War II veteran George A., Hood informed us that he was able to spend time with George prior to his death in 2011.

The band then graced the audience with a couple of new songs that have yet to be recorded for an album. Cooley sang lead on one titled “Flight 218 to Denver.” Sung by Hood, the song that really hit and stood out to be a great new tune was “What It Means,” written about a neighbor during their time in Athens who suffered a tragic end of life.

Instead of walking completely off stage and coming back for the encore the band said they were skipping the bullshit and going on. Cooley went into “Zip City” which had the crowd finally standing and singing along. Closing out the night was a cover of Faces’ “Oh La La” which also had the crowd singing along, leaving those assembled on upbeat note.

Though outside of Drive-By Truckers’ typically electrified setting, this was still a rock show, just one of a different caliber. The varied arrangements of classic DBT songs emphasized the meaning behind them even more, if that could be possible. One of these variations that succeeded so perfectly was fan-favorite “Cottonseed,” which not only made it feel like a new song, but also added to the weight of the story within the lyrics, adding a sense of unease.

Just when you think you’ve heard the best of the Drive-By Truckers they pull an acoustic tour to show their fans what lies beneath all the gritty rock ‘n’ roll and musical talent: their songwriting of honest stories riddled with passionate messages and strong emotion. That is the true framework of rock ’n’ roll.

JamBase | The Dirt Underneath
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