Drive-by Truckers Play for the Fans in Tarrytown

My balcony perch was perfect to see
the warm relationship between Drive-By Truckers and fans.

Like a shooting guard in a cold spell or a home run hitter in a slump, the best thing a rock band can do when hitting a rut is to keep on playing shows. Building off their solid Beacon Theatre performance (although not a good venue for them)… they made DBT fans proud.

Watching the Drive-by Truckers at Tarrytown Music Hall on a foggy Tuesday March (2015) night felt like seeing that perennial all-star slugger get his groove back and go 4 for 4 with 2 HRs.

The band walked on stage with a particular calmness that I had not seen in recent NYC area performances. It was nice to be a part of it, cause I do love these guys. Perhaps it’s that their new songs have been reshaped to something the band is happy with after playing them so many times the past two years.

I also noticed a return to glory with Cooley’s voice. Whether they were real or not, it seemed like his spurs were sharpened and put to good use. His cowboy tunes struck a chord with the hard core DBT fans. I really liked him singing “Box of Spiders”.

A nice video clip (click here for mobile viewing) is posted of “English Oceans”, which always reminds me of a cowboy riding fast for the hills with a bag of booty.

Very cool to hear the shout out to Yonkers native Jay Gonzales. I didn’t know. Glad I do now.

After moving from the floor to the balcony above stage right, me and my showmates (Mr. Bill C – Westchester’s environmental clean-up king and, later, Jay Berg from New City) enjoyed the most wonderful unobstructed view of the band playing off the audience (see picture above). The interplay between the two was moving.

“Women Without Whiskey” was especially sweet.

“Marry Me” was extra lively and sharp.

“A World of Hurt” was vibrant and electric.

It wasn’t all roses though…I really missed the horns on “Shit Shot Counts”. It was kinda like hearing Phil and Friends and waiting for the Jerry part. Luckily Jay Gonzales came to the rescue with horn-like slide riffs that filled the large theatre sky.

Jay’s guitar on “Devil Don’t Stay” was a real treat too. That man is a musician’s musician.

Like Government Mule and Wilco, DBT has such a rich and robust catalog of songs. Tonight they played so many of the great tunes really well.

Last but not least, having the band pull a “Tonight’s The Night” that would have made Neil’s Topanga crew smile was super f’ing awesome!!!! The organ parts on their version was eerie. Their version sounded like Talking Heads in a way.

Here is the full setlist: