The Big Memphis To-Do September 20, 2010
Posted by Matt in concerts.Tags: concert recap, drive-by truckers, fan dedication, Memphis, Mike Cooley, Minglewood Hall, Patteson Hood, setlist
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As I mentioned in last night’s entry, Friday’s Drive-By Truckers show was excellent, another great one that I was glad to be able to see. We arrived at Minglewood Hall in Midtown Memphis in time to hear the last few songs from the opening band, The Henry Clay People, including an upbeat, punkish cover of “Born to Run” that ended their set. They sounded pretty good and I’ll probably check out some of their other stuff, but they were merely the appetizer for the main course that lay ahead.
DBT walked onto the stage about 9:15 and, following Patterson Hood’s dedication to my friend Chris, they launched into “The Living Bubba.” The band was in fine form all night, with Hood and Mike Cooley trading vocal duties on a regular basis and Shonna Tucker taking over for only one song later in the set, “It’s Gonna Be” I Told You So. As usual, the set was high-energy and fun, with the band expending a great deal of sweat and energy while pounding through song after song of Southern life, their buzzsaw three guitar attack slicing through the air of anticipation and excitement.
Following “Bubba,” the pounding drum beat of concert staple “Where the Devil Don’t Stay” filled the room and somehow the building kept from falling in around us from the earth-shaking loudness. Hood and Cooley are former Memphis residents, a fact that they always bring up on their stops in the Bluff City and that sometimes pops up in some of their songs. The most noticeable of these is probably “The Night GG Allin Came to Town,” which they didn’t play in this most recent show, but they did do “Birthday Boy,” which Mike Cooley claimed happened in Memphis during a show earlier this year and, “The Wig He Made Her Wear,” their take on the Church of Christ preacher murder in nearby Selmer, Tennessee.
Other highlights included the incredible, “Drag the Lake, Charlie,” with it’s heavy and unforgettable riff, the early catalog favorite, “Love Like This,” and the trilogy of favorites ending the first set: “Zip City,” “Sink Hole,” and “Puttin’ People on the Moon.” Another interesting piece was one I had never heard before, a song called “Everybody Needs Love,” by the late Eddie Hinton, a Muscle Shoals songwriter and studio musician.
The encore was similar to past shows, but still an excellent set nonetheless. They began with a new song set for release on their next album, “Ray’s Automatic Weapon,” followed by “Gravity’s Gone,” and the rocking medley of their “Buttholeville” and Springsteen’s “State Trooper.” They then blazed through the final three tunes of the night, “Shut Up and Get on the Plane,” “Hell No, I Ain’t Happy,” and “People Who Died,” with voices and bodies that were ragged and spent, tearing through each number to the jubilation of the sweaty throng of Trucker fans, before finally bowing out after some 2.5 hours of sweet Southern madness.
It was another incredible show.
Below is the complete setlist, as compiled by my aforementioned friend Chris.
-Dedication to Chris and Keith
The Living Bubba
Where the Devil Don’t Stay
-Murder speech from Patterson Hood
The Wig He Made Her Wear
3 Dimes Down
Drag the Lake Charlie
Love Like This
Feb. 14
A Ghost to Most
Santa Fe
Women without Whiskey
-Intro to song by Eddie Hinton
Everybody Needs Love
-Cooley talks
Birthday Boy
(It’s Gonna Be) I Told You So
Get Downtown
After the Scene Dies
Zip City
Sing Hole
Puttin’ People on the Moon
Encore
-Hood talks about living in Memphis and announces a new song from the upcoming album
Ray Automatic Weapon
Gravity’s Gone
Buttholeville – State Trooper
Shut Up and Get on the Plane
Hell No, I Ain’t Happy
People Who Died
Seriously, if you still haven’t seen DBT in concert, you need to reevaluate your life.
