It’s going to be hard to wash off the hand stamp from 3 straight nights at the 9:30 Club with the Drive-by Truckers. I’m pretty well exhausted on this New Year’s Day, but with a warm satisfaction of having spent the last few evenings with one of rock’s hardest working bands.

Playmixt isn’t too proud to admit that our prediction was wrong: they did not play Southern Rock Opera in its entirety any of those nights. The 10th anniversary of that achievement has passed now. To be sure, it was real exciting when I realized it was 12:10am and they had not played a single tune off it, and I texted my friends that very message. Then Cooley launched into Women without Whiskey and the SRO prediction was cancelled. However, it’s fun to note that over three nights, we did get a large chunk of the best songs off that double album:

  • Ronnie and Neil

  • 72 (This Highway’s Mean)

  • The Southern Thing

  • Zip City

  • Let There Be Rock

  • Women Without Whiskey

  • Life in the Factory

  • Shut Up and Get On The Plane

  • Angels And Fuselage

…and as far as a single-LP distillation of SRO, one could do a lot worse. The prediction was made awaiting an early morning flight from Baltimore to Baton Rouge for Christmas. While waiting to board the plane, Angels and Fuselage got stuck in my head. That got me thinking about the website indicator that they’d do it one time in 2011, and how that hadn’t happened yet.

One fun thing about New Year’s Eve was that Playmixt’s prize-winning toast was read from the stage. We also got to sit in the VIP section of the balcony on Saturday night due to another contest on the Facebook page where you posted your photos from 9:30 Club shows. A pic from this year’s Hold Steady show won us that prize. The toast’s video is above (more video links at the close)

I’ve somewhat buried the lede here, because I still haven’t gotten to the fact that it actually was not DBT playing at the 9:30 Club on New Year’s Eve: it was BOOKER T. & THE DBTs! Legendary Stax records artist Booker T. Jones (without his MGs) sat in with the band all night. His classic organ sounds added some new dimensions to a bunch of the tunes. They took time out to play some Booker tunes too: Potato Hole, from the album that DBT backed him on, Time Is Tight, Born Under a Bad Sign, (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay — both of these last two being songs Booker wrote that became hits for other artists, Albert King and Otis Redding, respectively. The man is a musical legend, and at 67 had no trouble keeping up with his younger colleagues.

You might be thinking, “Sure - but the song Booker T. & the MGs are most known for is Green Onions. What about that?” Hell, yes, we got a major case of Green Onions! At midnight, Patterson Hood counted down, and a net full of black balloons opened up over the club’s floor. They kicked into a killer rendition of Green Onions. It pains me to say that I screwed up recording the show with my digital recorder last night and only got the encores from the New Year’s night. Am sure a recording will come out soon. Fortunately we got video of this and will post it accordingly.

The night wound down around 2am with the band performing an incredibly moving walk-off version of Angels and Fuselage as mentioned earlier. Maybe it was the emotion of the night, the capper for a really wild month, but it was very affecting and I got a little choked up. Thinking about Patterson’s words in the documentary about having to to perform that tune in September 2001 after the album’s release — well, that’s positively eerie. The song ended in a squall of feedback and tone as the various band members walked off one by one, eventually leaving only Brad EZB onstage — bare-fisted pounding the hell out of the huge bass drum with the Booker T. & the DBTs logo on it.

It was a moving end to a 3-night run that I suspect precipitates a long break for the mighty Drive-by Truckers. If you want to see more video, click on any of the following links:

12/29 show videos (includes 1 Lucero tune)

12/30 show videos

12/31 New Year’s Eve

ONE NIGHT DOWN, TWO TO GO.

Them Drive-by Truckers are in the middle of a 3-night run to New Year’s Eve at Washington DC’s legendary 9:30 Club. Above is video for Zip City from the first night.

No Southern Rock Opera last night, though we did get the above and also Life in the Factory, Let There Be Rock, Women Without Whiskey, and Shut up and Get On The Plane from said LP. They also cranked out their killer cover of Zevon’s Play It All Night Long as well as Jim Carroll’s People Who Died.

They sent out Feb. 14 to Barr Weissman and his wife; he directed a film about the band. The stage set has those dark, grim Cooley birds on either side, flanking the band, and a few more on the tapestry behind them. Sugar’s David Barbe (also the band’s long time producer) is doing a great job on bass, which I suspect is a major challenge in a band that famously declines to make setlists ahead of time.

Our prediction about SRO may not come true, but this run of gigs feels like they’re building to a pause point where they take a break, maybe make a new record, or just take some time off. They’ve been hitting the road so hard these last few years, it may be a point at which to take some family time out.

Lucero, live at the 9:30 Club, December 29, 2011.

“Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble?”

For my little hoodrat friends neckgear and hoosierindc: exclusive video!
The Hold Steady
9:30 Club, Washington DC
September 1, 2011

Photo by Playmixt. This is Mitch Mitchell.  Not Jimi Hendrix Experience Mitch Mitchell, but Dayton’s own Mitch Mitchell.  He plays in Guided by Voices.  He is a rock god. More on GBV in DC is forthcoming. 

Photo by Playmixt.

This is Mitch Mitchell.  Not Jimi Hendrix Experience Mitch Mitchell, but Dayton’s own Mitch Mitchell.  He plays in Guided by Voices.  He is a rock god.

More on GBV in DC is forthcoming. 

Awesome picture (not mine - click through for the attribution) of the building that is now the 9:30 Club in Washington DC.  This is it circa 1986.  Click through to see the original on Flickr.  I wish the club had a glorious marquee where every night the performer’s name appeared… but I suspect the neighborhood is not conducive to the survival of such signage. EDIT/UPDATE: Wikipedia taught me that the call letters and frequency (1120 AM) originated from the studio’s address.  The W is the first letter, like most radio stations East of the Mississippi, but then the UST = U Street.   WUST had a dance hall, which is what this building was before the 9:30.  WUST is still on the air, but is no longer a rhythm and blues station.

Awesome picture (not mine - click through for the attribution) of the building that is now the 9:30 Club in Washington DC.  This is it circa 1986.  Click through to see the original on Flickr.  I wish the club had a glorious marquee where every night the performer’s name appeared… but I suspect the neighborhood is not conducive to the survival of such signage.

EDIT/UPDATE: Wikipedia taught me that the call letters and frequency (1120 AM) originated from the studio’s address.  The W is the first letter, like most radio stations East of the Mississippi, but then the UST = U Street.   WUST had a dance hall, which is what this building was before the 9:30.  WUST is still on the air, but is no longer a rhythm and blues station.

Some photos of the Drive-by Truckers show at the 9:30 Club - as posted yesterday, Playmixt recorded the show, and you can find that here.  See more photos over here at Flickr.

Happy 30th Birthday, 9:30 Club! I’m lucky enough to live in the Washington DC area, which is home to the 9:30 Club, which seems consistently named Pollstar’s top venue (4 times) in the United States.  It’s a great club to be certain; you rarely see a bad show there. There’s a great oral history on it in the Washington Post here or click the above photo.  It includes input from folks like Dave Grohl and current owner Seth Hurwitz.  Read it - it’s great, especially the bit about the act that refused to go on in the original location, deeming it “not a real club.”  As someone not appreciably tall in height, I definitely appreciate the advantage the balcony and its risers bring to being able to actually *see* a show. Once saw a show at venue’s original address at 930 F Street once upon a time.  We were there to see an Irish rock band from Brooklyn, Black 47.  The opening act was a then-unknown Ben Folds Five, which mystified us as there were only 3 people in the act.  I remember seeing Ben’s piano wheeled in on some sort of cart.  All the legs were unscrewed and it was upright on its side.  It was wheeled to the stage (which was very hard to see in the old place) and legs were screwed in - voila!  Piano onstage.  The bouncing piano of “Where’s Summer B?” reminded me very much of Supertramp that night.  Alas, being of limited budget at the time, my decision as to whether to buy their single or buy another Guinness meant that… I don’t have that record today. No matter!  *grin* The 9:30 has been my musical home since moving to this area in 1999, although I used to travel on occasion the 4.5 hours from Pittsburgh to attend shows here that weren’t coming to the Burgh.  A show at the 9:30 is never a bad prospect.  If you’re ever coming here, I highly encourage you to check out who’s playing and get tickets.  Tickets bought at the box office only incur $1 in service charges. Some random 9:30 Club memories off the top of my head: -seeing Wilco play about 2 weeks after 9/11 while the (still-unreleased) YHF turmoil was sorting out.  I remember Jeff Tweedy addressing the crowd by saying, “Don’t worry about the label.  You don’t need a label to make music.”  This has remained one of my favorite quotes about music ever since.  They played “California Stars” and “Passenger Side” and everyone sang along. -coming to see Yo La Tengo one time, and arriving to find the power was out for blocks.  YLT ended up busking on the sidewalk a bit, but I missed them. -going to see Ryan Adams solo and being shocked at chairs on the floor.  The only other band I know that’s done this was Yo La Tengo on their subdued And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out tour.  One of those shows Ryan stopped everything and started playing records for us.  Those are not the the shows I remember very fondly. -getting to see Bob Dylan play a show that had been announced quietly only a couple of days prior. -seeing Guided by Voices there in 1996, being ensconced in a mass of fans from the email list and looking up into the lights as they performed “Weed King” off Propeller: “And watch colored lights shine down… dancing ‘round this latest phase.”   (NOTE: the GBVDB has this line as “dancing ‘round the lady’s face,” but I like my version better.  It’s not the first thing I’ve misheard.) -once arriving late for NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS; boo to us!  They were electrifying as always, though.  Any chance to see them is recommended. -other bands seen: The White Stripes, Gene (to a sadly nearly empty house), Mojave 3, The Hold Steady, The Gaslight Anthem, Cocteau Twins (same weekend as the above GbV show), Cheap Trick, Beth Orton, Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard, Neko Case, Drive-by Truckers, Bob Mould, The Clarks… to name but a few. I’d have posted a photo of the club itself but it’s not a pretty place from the outside.  The sound system and interior is tremendous, though.  The one wish I could make is for it would be to add an awesome marquee with the band names in lights… but with the neighborhood it’s in, it probably would not survive intact long.  My car has been broken into there - made the mistake of leaving a bag that *looked* like a laptop bag in plain sight.  That being said, I’ve never been afraid being down there after dark at all.  Here’s a Hold Steady photo from a show there, though, if you want to see what the interior is like.  Got more from that show here, if you’re curious.

Happy 30th Birthday, 9:30 Club!

I’m lucky enough to live in the Washington DC area, which is home to the 9:30 Club, which seems consistently named Pollstar’s top venue (4 times) in the United States.  It’s a great club to be certain; you rarely see a bad show there.

There’s a great oral history on it in the Washington Post here or click the above photo.  It includes input from folks like Dave Grohl and current owner Seth Hurwitz.  Read it - it’s great, especially the bit about the act that refused to go on in the original location, deeming it “not a real club.”

 As someone not appreciably tall in height, I definitely appreciate the advantage the balcony and its risers bring to being able to actually *see* a show.

Once saw a show at venue’s original address at 930 F Street once upon a time.  We were there to see an Irish rock band from Brooklyn, Black 47.  The opening act was a then-unknown Ben Folds Five, which mystified us as there were only 3 people in the act.  I remember seeing Ben’s piano wheeled in on some sort of cart.  All the legs were unscrewed and it was upright on its side.  It was wheeled to the stage (which was very hard to see in the old place) and legs were screwed in - voila!  Piano onstage.  The bouncing piano of “Where’s Summer B?” reminded me very much of Supertramp that night.  Alas, being of limited budget at the time, my decision as to whether to buy their single or buy another Guinness meant that… I don’t have that record today.

No matter!  *grin*

The 9:30 has been my musical home since moving to this area in 1999, although I used to travel on occasion the 4.5 hours from Pittsburgh to attend shows here that weren’t coming to the Burgh.  A show at the 9:30 is never a bad prospect.  If you’re ever coming here, I highly encourage you to check out who’s playing and get tickets.  Tickets bought at the box office only incur $1 in service charges.

Some random 9:30 Club memories off the top of my head:

-seeing Wilco play about 2 weeks after 9/11 while the (still-unreleased) YHF turmoil was sorting out.  I remember Jeff Tweedy addressing the crowd by saying, “Don’t worry about the label.  You don’t need a label to make music.”  This has remained one of my favorite quotes about music ever since.  They played “California Stars” and “Passenger Side” and everyone sang along.

-coming to see Yo La Tengo one time, and arriving to find the power was out for blocks.  YLT ended up busking on the sidewalk a bit, but I missed them.

-going to see Ryan Adams solo and being shocked at chairs on the floor.  The only other band I know that’s done this was Yo La Tengo on their subdued And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out tour.  One of those shows Ryan stopped everything and started playing records for us.  Those are not the the shows I remember very fondly.

-getting to see Bob Dylan play a show that had been announced quietly only a couple of days prior.

-seeing Guided by Voices there in 1996, being ensconced in a mass of fans from the email list and looking up into the lights as they performed “Weed King” off Propeller: “And watch colored lights shine down… dancing ‘round this latest phase.”   (NOTE: the GBVDB has this line as “dancing ‘round the lady’s face,” but I like my version better.  It’s not the first thing I’ve misheard.)

-once arriving late for NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS; boo to us!  They were electrifying as always, though.  Any chance to see them is recommended.

-other bands seen: The White Stripes, Gene (to a sadly nearly empty house), Mojave 3, The Hold Steady, The Gaslight Anthem, Cocteau Twins (same weekend as the above GbV show), Cheap Trick, Beth Orton, Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard, Neko Case, Drive-by Truckers, Bob Mould, The Clarks… to name but a few.

I’d have posted a photo of the club itself but it’s not a pretty place from the outside.  The sound system and interior is tremendous, though.  The one wish I could make is for it would be to add an awesome marquee with the band names in lights… but with the neighborhood it’s in, it probably would not survive intact long.  My car has been broken into there - made the mistake of leaving a bag that *looked* like a laptop bag in plain sight. 

That being said, I’ve never been afraid being down there after dark at all.  Here’s a Hold Steady photo from a show there, though, if you want to see what the interior is like.  Got more from that show here, if you’re curious.

HOLD.STEADY.9:30

“Well, my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right,
my mind’s not right…”

—-Abel by The National.

They played this in Richmond Friday night.  Matt Berninger is a very intense performer.   If you’ve only heard their relatively sedate (but epic) tuneFake Empire, take a look at another side of The National.

You can get a free NPR Podcast of The National live at Washington DC’s 9:30 Club from 2007, here at iTunes.  The show includes both those songs.

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