How I Spent My Saturday Night
The Drive-By Truckers, current titleholder of My Favorite Band, played at Headliner's in Louisville Saturday night. I was there as well.
The biggest difference between seeing a famous arena rock band versus a less-famous rock band is the intimacy of the venue. Instead of packing binoculars to catch a glimpse from the nosebleed section you have nothing but about 5 feet of air and smoke separating you from the band. Such was the case Saturday night, as I got there early enough to stake out my spot right at the foot of the stage.
This also meant that my head was about two feet from some humongoid speakers. Thankfully I had the foresight to bring earplugs or the world would no doubt still sound like my head was under water.
After the spirited and slightly enjoyable music of the opening act of The Felice Brothers (I've never heard of them either), the Truckers came out about 10:30. You can listen to a band for years so that you know their songs up and down, but it's always surreal that first time you see them right in front of you with your own eyes.
All of a sudden, an arm's length away, right in front of my face, was Cooley's left knee. The left knee of the guy who wrote Zip City. One of The Greatest Songs of All Times.
Here's your "my-eye's view" of the first song, "That Man I Shot", off of Brighter Than Creation's Dark. The audio is not the best, but it's about the thoughts of a soldier in Iraq who shot a man who may or may not have been a civilian. Lyrics here. The anonymity and depersonalization of war.
Yes, this is from that very show that very night. The guy who filmed this must have been standing just to my left.
You can see a slideshow of some of the pictures I took in the right margin of this page.
The biggest difference between seeing a famous arena rock band versus a less-famous rock band is the intimacy of the venue. Instead of packing binoculars to catch a glimpse from the nosebleed section you have nothing but about 5 feet of air and smoke separating you from the band. Such was the case Saturday night, as I got there early enough to stake out my spot right at the foot of the stage.
This also meant that my head was about two feet from some humongoid speakers. Thankfully I had the foresight to bring earplugs or the world would no doubt still sound like my head was under water.
After the spirited and slightly enjoyable music of the opening act of The Felice Brothers (I've never heard of them either), the Truckers came out about 10:30. You can listen to a band for years so that you know their songs up and down, but it's always surreal that first time you see them right in front of you with your own eyes.
All of a sudden, an arm's length away, right in front of my face, was Cooley's left knee. The left knee of the guy who wrote Zip City. One of The Greatest Songs of All Times.
Here's your "my-eye's view" of the first song, "That Man I Shot", off of Brighter Than Creation's Dark. The audio is not the best, but it's about the thoughts of a soldier in Iraq who shot a man who may or may not have been a civilian. Lyrics here. The anonymity and depersonalization of war.
Yes, this is from that very show that very night. The guy who filmed this must have been standing just to my left.
You can see a slideshow of some of the pictures I took in the right margin of this page.
Labels: music
posted by J at
11:16 AM
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