dbt opening for eric church

[Markalanbishop]

My youngest daughter, who is 22, and her friends enjoy all that pop country crap. I acknowledge that I have failed her as a parent but hopefully she'll grow out of it--I know my older daughters (mostly) did right about this age. Anyway, she and some friends were at my house last night and I told them about DBT/Eric Church, and it gave DBT instant credibility with them. If a band is opening for Eric Church they have to be really good, right? So I took the opportunity to crank a little Shit Shots Count for them. They are definitely now more inclined to listen to the Truckers and give them a chance.

To paraphrase a wise man, I don't give a flying fuck who DBT opens for. As long as it isn't Blackberry Smoke--that's where I draw the line.

[cortez the killer]

To paraphrase a wise man, I don't give a flying fuck.

Indeed.

[dbtfan4life]

Blackberry Smoke sucks nuff said !!!

[dogstar]

This is from Cooley's recent interview for Smokey Mountain News, not talikng aout the Eric Church tour in particular but it seems apt

Maybe someone with a narrow perspective can see the world at a different angle with our music. We’re not looking to charge windmills — we’re looking to plant seeds

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/aae/it ... -the-place

[Zip City]

I kinda sorta just called everyone on the official DBT Facebook page "dicks"

[brett27295]

I kinda sorta just called everyone on the official DBT Facebook page "dicks"

Most of those who post on the official DBT Facebook group fit that description.

[Wolf]

I kinda sorta just called everyone on the official DBT Facebook page "dicks"

wow. that's funny. not

[Zip City]

I kinda sorta just called everyone on the official DBT Facebook page "dicks"

wow. that's funny. not

When people are being dicks, I call them dicks. Funny has nothing to do with it.

[Clams]

Where exactly do these FB discussions take place? I'm on FB and I can never find them. Is there a link or something?

[rlipps]

Where exactly do these FB discussions take place? I'm on FB and I can never find them. Is there a link or something?

Trust me, you don't want to find them.

[Zip City]

Where exactly do these FB discussions take place? I'm on FB and I can never find them. Is there a link or something?

This particular thread was in the comments of the band's announcements of additional tour dates supporting Church

[brett27295]

It's always been my theory that most people who post on the official FB page hate the group.

[Zip City]

It's always been my theory that most people who post on the official FB page hate the group.

Welcome to Facebook, where people "like" bands, politicians, etc. just so they can talk shit about them on their page. It's a sad world we live in

[Zip City]

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of those FB yahoos went over and "liked" the Eric Church page just to trash on him and thump their chests about DBT

[Kudzu Guillotine]

In most cases you don't have to "Like" a page in order to comment.

[Cole Younger]

I'm "friends" with the Truckers but rarely ever read the comments. It just feels really weird to me after spending so much time here. The two bunches of folks are very different from each other.

[Zip City]

In most cases you don't have to "Like" a page in order to comment.

depends on that page's privacy settings

[Kudzu Guillotine]

In most cases you don't have to "Like" a page in order to comment.

depends on that page's privacy settings

Never paid it much attention, I've just noticed an unusual amount of casual fans as well as the type of asshattery you mention on other pages as well. Seems once you weed out the casual fans, the trolls and the spammers there's usually not much left in the way of diehards though I'm sure that's not always the case.

[Tequila Cowboy]

In most cases you don't have to "Like" a page in order to comment.

depends on that page's privacy settings

Never paid it much attention, I've just noticed an unusual amount of casual fans as well as the type of asshattery you mention on other pages as well. Seems once you weed out the casual fans, the trolls and the spammers there's usually not much left in the way of diehards though I'm sure that's not always the case.

Most DBT diehards do their posting here or the DBT or Drive-By Truckers FB Groups. Most of what I see on the official page are people asking them to come to their town or saying things like "I saw you in 2006 and you were AWESOME!" or "Bring back Isbell" "Cooley can lick Nugent's balls man, the Nuge ROCKS" and lately things like "Eric Church sucks I guess you blow now". You know great wit of that nature. Ya wanna look there? Have at it. I ignore it.

[RevMatt]

Every web community has its particularities and when active membership reaches a certain level there are bound to be factions, feuds and flame wars. I don't think it is productive to criticize the members of another DBT community. Or at least we should try to take an honest look at ourselves before talking about another group of fans.

3DD is a great bunch of people but I can see how others might look at us critically. First, people with good writing skills, mad video or recording skills kind of dominate this forum and a person who isn't such a good writer or sound engineer might feel left out. Second, there seems to be more people on 3DD who travel to shows than those on the Facebook page. That can lead to 3DD being perceived as more affluent or something, though in fairness 3DD always seems to be there for a member who has fallen on hard times or might not be able to travel. Third, I think 3DD is perceived as having more access to the band than other fan groups. This is, in part, because the members of DBT and the crew tend to seek people outside of the entourage to chat or hang with before shows and 3DD people tend to be better known to the band than other groups. It is just the case of pulling up into a strange town and seeing a familiar face. In that sense, touring musicians are not different from other business travelers. The Truckers have never been the sort of musicians who actively seek to avoid their fans before a show. They don't take it for granted that they have a fanbase that follows them for several dates on a tour.

I always make new friends at Trucker shows. I like to talk up 3DD and invite new people to join us. I am also proud of the way this community supports one another and Nuci's Space. This is a unique fan community and I really don't know of others like it. 3DD provides first rate content, facilitates live streaming of shows and makes sure that anybody who wants to go to a DBT show has a group of people to hang out with. For me, 3DD is the difference between attending 3 shows a year and 15.

Homecoming is approaching. The last thing I would want to see are bad vibes between groups of fans. Especially since Athens is now my home. One of the perks of living here is getting to meet so many DBT fans in person every winter.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I believe the remarks being alluded to are ones from the official DBT's FB page where anyone can post, they're not in reference to one of the DBT's "Group" pages. Regarding the former, "Stay out of the Comments section" definitely applies.

As for the camaraderie you mention, it's not unique to 3DD. I've seen it in relation to other online communities. The downside to that is, the popularity of a lot of those communities was diminished once FB took off. In that respect, it's a wonder that a message board such as this is even still in existence, much less remaining as active as it is.

[RevMatt]

Message boards, IMO, are a better format for threaded discussions. But you are right. Facebook has made many obsolete. I think 3DD is going strong because of the diversity of topics. Far easier to manage than Facebook where only the popular threads are easy to access.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I'm not sure how many here were also on the DBT's Yahoo Group list but I'd say the atmosphere here is very similar. On FB, I believe a lot of folks join those Group pages but never actively participate, just treating it like another page you "Like". That said, some are very active but I can only imagine how difficult it is to grow a membership with one of those since there's so many distractions on FB already. If someone's going out of their way to post on a message board these days, I'd say it probably boils down most to everyone's passion for the music (live and on record). At least that's my take.

[RolanK]

Relax. It's just North Korean cyber agents trolling up the DBT Facebook. Now let's stay calm and go back to our usual routine and hope they don't find out about this place.

[brett27295]

You have to be added to the DBT and DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS FB groups. The vast majority of people who belong to those groups are actually fans, many of us are members of one or both of those groups as well as 3DD. I have friends I've met here, and I have friends I've met through the other groups. Lots of good people on all 3 forums.

Anyone can post on the official Drive-By Truckers page. There's a huge difference between the people on the fan pages and the ones who post on the official page. For those confused we are talking about 3 separate entities. Two of them are fan pages you have to be added to, they are not official or endorsed by the band. Though Patterson is a member of the DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS fan group and posts and responds on a semi-regular basis. The official Facebook page of the group is totally different. Anyone can read it, post there etc. That's where the whole Cooley/Nugent thread took place. It's full of idiots.

The whole thing today was because someone posted a link to this thread and basically called out 3DD for putting down the FB groups, which wasn't actually happening. Evidently he was/is confused about the official Facebook page and the asshattery that goes on there. Nonetheless I don't actually mind being called a "pretentious prick". It has a nice ring to it...

[sjd]

3DD is a great bunch of people but I can see how others might look at us critically. First, people with good writing skills, mad video or recording skills kind of dominate this forum and a person who isn't such a good writer or sound engineer might feel left out.

These is one of the reasons that I joined this forum. I've been on the FB group for a while and a lot of the people on there are at best misinformed and at worst, massive trolls.

What's sad is that so many FB pages suffer from the same problem. Everyone suddenly thinks their opinion means something and the level of ignorance is staggering.

[dbtfan4life]

this is the only message board i use. ever since it was ninebullets

[Clams]

this is the only message board i use. ever since it was ninebullets

You oughta check out the gecko board. They still email me on my birthday.

http://www.geckoforums.net/

[heartbreaker1976]

Interesting take from Bob Lefsetz on Eric Church. Usually I think Bob's a jackwagon...but this article is praising Eric Church...



THIS IS MY HOMETOWN!

So I'm hanging with Tony D. upstairs, waiting for the Eric Church V.I.P. experience. They sell it according to the size of the room. In L.A. that's 200 people, for $200 apiece. How can that BE?

And we're killing time in the museum to the man. With framed letters from icons like Taylor Swift, thanking Eric for getting kicked off the Rascal Flatts tour so she could get the gig, and I'm fingering the Lucchese boots you can only buy here, with Eric's lyrics etched into the bottom, then I hear that whoop of recognition, Eric has arrived.

Here's the deal. The V.I.P. experience includes some food...and an acoustic appearance by the man himself.

And I'm talking to Louis Messina. I'm a jaded old coot, I've seen it all, and then Eric starts to strum.

He's wearing his aviators, but no hat. He's making small talk and then he starts to sing and I begin to tingle...THIS IS IT!

You can go see the local act play at the bar and get as close as you want to. But once they make it, once they have fans across this great country of ours, you can read about their travails in the gossip pages, but you're never going to ever get up close and personal.

But here he was!

And everybody's got their phone in the air, not only shooting pics, but making videos. There's all this bullcrap about possessions, but you can't buy a $10,000 iPhone, no, the reality is today it's all about experiences, and the fans in attendance were peaking and freaking...AND SO WAS I!

This is the only place you can get this, the only way you can get this adoration is by playing music. And the hit is INCREDIBLE!

That's right, you can be a legendary actor, you can be a billionaire, but you're never going to get the response Eric Church got from the assembled multitude Friday night.

The connection between musical performer and fan. Not lip-synching, playing to hard drive, but giving you an unimpeachable, totally unique acoustic rendition of songs you know by heart.

"Give me back my hometown
'CAUSE THIS IS MY HOMETOWN!!"

2

So what happens at an Eric Church show?

First and foremost it sells out, which ain't easy at Staples, where there's an upper deck above three tiers of skyboxes that is so high it might as well come with oxygen.

And there's no fakery. Just a drummer and four guitars. You remember bands, don't you? Don't pooh-pooh country music, you haven't given it a chance. It's everything you yearn for. Honest, played by real musicians, singing about real life. The only difference is the accent. But if you read the "New York Times," you know the northerners are migrating down south, that's where everybody's going.

So there's this white goateed slide guitarist who's bringing me right back to the seventies, my body is twisting and turning as he wails. I start to ponder how good he is compared to Duane Allman, but then I remember no one even does this anymore. And if you hadn't been around back then, you'd be inspired to play. Remember that? Seeing your heroes up on stage and buying an instrument to get closer to the music yourself?

And then there's the hard work. First time through L.A. Eric played at the Whisky, to six people. Ten years ago. When he was already 27. Tell that to the barely pubescent stars they keep telling us have something to say and will last forever. That's right, Justin Bieber's doing a roast because he's a joke!

And sure, Eric plays the hits, but the set is different every night, because if it's not fun for the people making the music, the audience can tell. Because, after all, when done right live music is a religious experience.

3

And then he played "Dancing In The Dark."

It was the intro to his big hit "Springsteen." Because the thread runs through rock and roll all the way from New Jersey to Nashville.

And it is about hits. They're the tree you hang the ornaments upon.

And the best hits are songs.

You remember songs, don't you? Those things you can sing along to in the car?

4

So what did we learn?

That country is a big tent. Dwight Yoakam held down the middle and Halestorm opened, one of the highlights came when Eric called out Lizzy Hale to shred with him. It's powerful to see a woman with an Explorer pick.

And the audience was 50/50 boys and girls. Some come for the stories, some come for the gut-wrenching playing, but they all want to put their hands in the air and sing along.

Like me.

Because deep into the set, I heard that intro straight out of Petty's "Love Is A Long Road" and then...

"Damn, I used to love this view"

Living to listen to the music. Making pilgrimages to the store to visit the records, with the elixir of life locked inside.

"All the colors of my youth
The red, the green, the hope, the truth"

What kind of bizarre world do we live in where we lionize the rich and the no-talents? One wherein old guys in black tell us to love records by people who can't sing and can't play while the pop chart is ruled by people who are faces only.

"My friends try to cheer me up, get together at the Pizza Hut"

And talk about the good old days. The Fillmore. The Stones. The Who. All the classic rock.

"These sleepy streetlights on every sidewalk side street
Shed a light on everything that used to be"

The oldsters dye their hair, get plastic surgery and put out new albums that are unlistenable, wanting us to believe it's 1975 when that was forty years ago.

And then you stumble into an arena and find 20,000 people who are not jaded, who know every word and sing along, just like we used to, to a guy who knows history but is not imprisoned by it, who wants to carry on the tradition, but in his own vision.

And I've got my arm in the air, exclaiming to the rafters with all my might:

"Give me back my hometown
'CAUSE THIS IS MY HOMETOWN"

It's great to get back to where you once belonged.

I know, because I went there Friday night.

[Southern Efficiency]

Seriously, we take ourselves seriously and if we're singing along it's because a song signifies, it has meaning, we identify with it because it's real, it's damn near poetry man. When those guys sing it's because they're drunk or because it's the only way they can express their repressed homoerotic feelings or some shit like that.

BTB discovers a rock-and-roll corollary for the fundamental attribution error.