Heathens Homecoming 2018

[Jack Flash]

As Bubba suggested, if that was the Thursday show, brains will be splattered all over the 40 Watt come Saturday night.

Frankly I have no logical explanation for why I'm awake right now, but here's the setlist:

Guns of Umpqua (w/ "thoughts and prayers" intro)
Where the Devil Don't Stay
Sink Hole
A Ghost to Most
Tornadoes
Sounds Better in the Song
Heathens
Zip City
Dead Drunk & Naked
Guitar Man Upstairs
Ronnie and Neil
Surrender Under Protest
Lookout Mountain
Women Without Whiskey
Late for Church (w/ Adam Howell)
Wife Beater (w/ Adam Howell)
Filthy and Fried
Hanging On
Made Up English Oceans
Too Much Sex
Birthday Boy
The Perilous Night
Ramon Casiano
Puttin' People on the Moon
Shut Up and Get Yo Ass on the Plane
Grand Canyon

[gordonlw]

Frankly I have no logical explanation for why I'm awake right now

I have a kid so even on vacation without her I can barely sleep in. Sucks but 8:30 is better than 6:45!

[Sterling Bigmouth]

What an amazing show. My 1st time in the 40 Watt definitely didn’t disappoint. Think we all knew what they were opening with, and for good reason. The highlights for me were the return of Zip City (because boy, was I worried), Adam Howell making an appearance, and getting to hear some songs live for the first time like Tornadoes, The Perilous Night, etc. If that was Thursday’s show, I expect to see people laying in the floor by Sunday morning. With that being said:

Tall Boy PBRs: 1
Me: 0

[thebluestepside]

Holy balls. That's one heck of a Thursday night setlist.

[pearlbeer]

I think this is right...

DBT - 2/15 - 40 Watt

Guns of Umpqua
WTDDS
Sinkhole
Ghost to Most
Tornadoes
Sounds better in the song
Heathens
Zip City
Dead Drunk and Naked
Guitar Man Upstairs
Ronnie and Neil
Surrender Under Protest
Lookout Mountain
Www
Late for church. (Adam)
Wife beater
Filthy & Fried
Hanging on
Made up English Oceans
Too much sex
Birthday boy
Perilous night
Ramon
Ppotm
Shut your mouth
Grand Canyon

[gordonlw]

Barbe was on people, shut up, and grand canyon.

[Beaverdam]

What an amazing show. My 1st time in the 40 Watt definitely didn’t disappoint. Think we all knew what they were opening with, and for good reason. The highlights for me were the return of Zip City (because boy, was I worried), Adam Howell making an appearance, and getting to hear some songs live for the first time like Tornadoes, The Perilous Night, etc. If that was Thursday’s show, I expect to see people laying in the floor by Sunday morning. With that being said:

Tall Boy PBRs: 1
Me: 0

Last night, at almost 40 years old, I learned that multiple PBRs without dinner have an intoxicating effect!

[Rocky]

Wife Beater (w/ Adam Howell)!!!

[beantownbubba]

If you're on this board, presumably you know all the songs. And there's at least a decent chance that you've even seen many/most/all of them performed live before. Yet the band, and the songs, still have the capacity to surprise, to break the clutter and noise of everyday life and to hit home and hit hard. For me, last nite, the songs that stood out in that particular way were Sounds Better in the Song, Heathens and Putting People on the Moon. Songs I would already have described as "great" or "songs I love" but they still have the capacity to move me and that's a great, wonderful thing.

Both on the album and at last nite's show, two great songs, Sounds Better in the Song and Heathens, are made even greater in context by being placed next to each other. Two different approaches to a similar subject that elevate each other and in the process elevate me.

"Now she's found her self and I've lost mine
and I'm just another guy who can't give her anything...
A light that shines as bright as hers can't be kept in the shadows for too long.
A heart that wants to live and a soul that wants to give
can't just sit at home alone.
Lord, she's give me everything and never wanted anything I couldn't give.
Just what was inside of me. "

"Something 'bout the wrinkle in your forehead tells me there's a fit 'bout to get thrown
If we get the van out of the ditch before morning ain't nobody got to know what I done...
These times can take their toll sometimes and I know you feel the same way too
It gets so hard to keep between the ditches
when the roads wind the way they do."
"

"Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin' cancer every year
And we can't afford no insurance, I been 10 years unemployed
So she didn't get no chemo so our lives was destroyed
And nothin' ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And now over there in Huntsville, even NASA's shut down too"
"

[gordonlw]

T Hardy Morris w/ Jay & Patterson doing Tom Petty Scare Easy.....

https://soundcloud.com/user-622689380-1 ... scare-easy

[BDuck81]

What an amazing show. My 1st time in the 40 Watt definitely didn’t disappoint. Think we all knew what they were opening with, and for good reason. The highlights for me were the return of Zip City (because boy, was I worried), Adam Howell making an appearance, and getting to hear some songs live for the first time like Tornadoes, The Perilous Night, etc. If that was Thursday’s show, I expect to see people laying in the floor by Sunday morning. With that being said:

Tall Boy PBRs: 1
Me: 0

Last night, at almost 40 years old, I learned that multiple PBRs without dinner have an intoxicating effect!

I am of a similar age and I had a similar experience at the Atlanta rock show last September. (I planned on stopping for dinner, but circumstances beyond my control kept me from being able to stop for dinner before the show. I drank as if I HAD eaten dinner and it was rough!)

I'll be at the Saturday show, with a full stomach and ready to go full blast.

[Jonsull]

Dumb question maybe....where is the Dazed Inn?

[PeterG]

Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to stream tonight. We expect
To have things up tomorrow

Thanks for trying Joni.
Hoping to get the HC Couch tour kicked off tonight.
Last night sounded like one for the ages....

[Zip City]

WTDDS
Sinkhole
Ghost to Most
Tornadoes
Sounds better in the song
Heathens
Zip City


I would be thrilled to attend a show where they play all of these songs over the course of the night. But all of these IN A ROW?

[gordonlw]

https://archive.org/details/dbt2018-02-15.ak40.flac16


Drive-By Truckers
2018/02/15
40 Watt Club
Athens, GA

source: Neumann ak40 (din) > Nick mod lc3 > Naiant PFA > Sound Devices MixPre-6 @ 24/48
location: inside sbd cage dfc, stand @ 7'
transfer: SDHC card > PC > wavelab 6.1 > cd wave > traders little helper (flac level 8)

all editing (gain, fades, Crystal Resampler (high), dither w/ iZotope Ozone 7) done in wavelab 6.1

*16bit/44.1khz fileset*

recorded and transferred by Gordon Wilson

A Team Dirty South Recording

01. Guns of Umpqua
02. Where the Devil Don't Stay
03. Sink Hole
04. A Ghost to Most
05. Tornadoes
06. Sounds Better in the Song
07. Heathens
08. Zip City
09. Dead, Drunk and Naked
10. Guitar Man Upstairs
11. Ronnie and Neil
12. Surrender Under Protest
13. Lookout Mountain
14. Women Without Whiskey
15. Patterson Banter
16. Late for Church *
17. Wife Beater *
18. Filthy and Fried
19. Hanging On
20. Made Up English Oceans
21. Too Much Sex (Too Little Jesus)
22. Birthday Boy
23. The Perilous Night
24. Ramon Casiano
25. Puttin' People on the Moon ^
26. Shut Up And Get On The Plane ^
27. Grand Canyon ^

* w/ Adam Howell on guitar and vocals. Last Late for Church 01/15/2009
^ w/ David Barbe on guitar and keys on t27

[woollyB]

God bless tapers

[Plus one]

Thank you. Sounds great.

[Howlinwolf]

Thanks Gordon - Kicks ass per usual!!! Presh!

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

God bless tapers

[beantownbubba]

WTDDS
Sinkhole
Ghost to Most
Tornadoes
Sounds better in the song
Heathens
Zip City


I would be thrilled to attend a show where they play all of these songs over the course of the night. But all of these IN A ROW?

An excellent summary of what I was trying to convey

Dumb question maybe....where is the Dazed Inn?

On North Finley St, 2 blocks west of the 40 Watt

[gordonlw]

As long as the wifi holds up we'll be audio streaming the next two nights from the 40 Watt on team dirty south.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tds-streams

Please note that we (TDS) use a free ustream account as it's not worth $99 a month for the occasional stream! Mixlr isn't a viable option for us either. So you may see an ad or two. This is beyond my control!

That said one way to get around this is to use ADBLOCK PLUS for whatever browser you use (google it and install) and you likely will not see any ads whatsoever! So don't complain about ads as I told you how to avoid them! I can not guarantee you will not see any ads but in the past it has worked nearly perfectly.

[potatoeater]

As long as the wifi holds up we'll be streaming the next two nights from the 40 Watt on team dirty south.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tds-streams

Please note that we (TDS) use a free ustream account as it's not worth $99 a month for the occasional stream! Mixlr isn't a viable option for us either. So you may see an ad or two. This is beyond my control!

That said one way to get around this is to use ADBLOCK PLUS for whatever browser you use (google it and install) and you likely will not see any ads whatsoever! So don't complain about ads as I told you how to avoid them! I can not guarantee you will not see any ads but in the past it has worked nearly perfectly.

Thanks man!

[gordonlw]

oh and before anyone says "I don't see any video" it's audio only

[RolanK]

Scott Baxendale is doing a set at The Hendershot at 8 pm tonight (Friday)

[PeterG]

As long as the wifi holds up we'll be audio streaming the next two nights from the 40 Watt on team dirty south.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tds-streams

Please note that we (TDS) use a free ustream account as it's not worth $99 a month for the occasional stream! Mixlr isn't a viable option for us either. So you may see an ad or two. This is beyond my control!

That said one way to get around this is to use ADBLOCK PLUS for whatever browser you use (google it and install) and you likely will not see any ads whatsoever! So don't complain about ads as I told you how to avoid them! I can not guarantee you will not see any ads but in the past it has worked nearly perfectly.

BIG THANKS!

[Tequila Cowboy]

2/16/2018

Dedication to the Robertson’s
Living Bubba
Made Up English Oceans
Baggage
Women Without Whiskey
Pauline Hawkins
72
Days of Graduation
Ronnie & Neil
Surrender Under Protest
Sinkhole
Uncle Frank
Why Henry Drinks
Marry Me
Buttholeville/State Trooper
Shit Shots Count
Ain’t Talking Bout Love
Sounds Better in the Song
Something’s Gotta Give
Kinky Hypocrite
KKK
Steve McQueen
Zip City
Let There Be Rock
Shut Up and Get On the Plane
Angels & Fuselage

[potatoeater]

I absolutely love angels as a closer. Great show! Thanks again Gordon for the stream! It brought joy to this budgeting family man on a Friday night.

[beantownbubba]

I consider myself to be a mature person. I'm 60 years old. I've been married for almost 35 years I've raised 2 kids to adulthood. Very serious people pay me semi serious money to provide them with useful advice about serious matters. So I really do not like being a drooling, babbling fan boy. I do not want to be a drooling, babbling fan boy. Yet, here we are and here I am, a drooling fanboy to the max. I'm actually not too embarrassed about it because it seems the only sensible response to what I've heard, seen and experienced the last 2 nites.

Let's review: Thursday nite's show was pretty damn astounding and as a matter of showmanship, just plain crazy for the first night of a 3 night run. Patterson apparently realized this when, while introducing the camp amped band tonight, he tried to walk back Thursday night saying something like "we did a Saturday show on Thursday so I'm not sure where this is going." (I wasn't there at the time but I think this accurately reflects what I was told by several people who were). There is simply no way that tonight's show could or should have topped thursday's but I don't think anyone who was there for both shows would say that Thursday was better. IOW, the band basically achieved the impossible.

The band took a very different approach to the show, clearly differentiating it from Thursday's. It began w/ slower, less overtly rocking songs, but the power of the lyrics came through loud and clear and there was even something of a funk shading to several of the songs. Jay didn't even play guitar until about 5 or 6 songs in. Patterson, never one to miss a moment, hit the nail right on the head from the very beginning w/ a lovely low key tribute to the Robertsons, saying "this is what it's all about." For those who don't know, Mr. R died a couple of weeks ago, but Mrs. R, Lorna, chose to come to all the way from Scotland for homecoming despite (because of?) her grief. I don't know Lorna well but I did speak to her briefly and she did seem to be taking some comfort and getting some healing from the community, the homecoming "experience" and the shows. Patterson's tribute/acknowledgement was perfect.

The opening songs were a combination of songs played and not played on Thursday and the overall effect was very different yet just as exciting and enveloping. "Living Bubba" was the absolutely perfect song to complement Patterson's comments about the Robertsons. As on the album, "Baggage" is not really a rock song yet manages to totally rock out and bring the audience along w/ it. I'm a big fan of "Pauline Hawkins" so it was great to hear it for the first time in a while and the band nailed it. And then came this thing allegedly called "72." It was titanic, it was monstrous, it was, well, mean as hell. It was incredible and the best version I've ever heard. But that just set the table.

Yesterday I talked about context and there's no better example than "Days of Graduation" > "Ronnie & Neil. R&N was terrific on Thursday but w/ the springboard of "Days" it achieved new heights and even greater power. And "Surrender Under Protest" benefited from following "Ronnie & Neil" as their different but complementary themes worked beautifully in tandem. Plus who knows what Patterson was implying when some guy named "Johnny" suddenly appeared in the "Days of Graduation" car along w/ Bobby and his girlfriend. A threesome? A love triangle? A simple mistake? Who cares, it was glorious. BTW, in case anybody thinks I'm giving the band too much grief about the minor glitches I point out, I do it because I love it, not to be critical. There's something humanizing about it in a way that makes the band even better and more worthy of my admiration than hitting every note or lyric perfectly.

I never really thought about "Sinkhole" and "Uncle Frank" as a tandem but it turns out that they, too, address similar subjects in complementary and thought provoking ways. And, at least in its current incarnation, "Uncle Frank" continues to amaze not just for its lyrical virtuosity but for basically being a ballad in the form of a hard driving rock song. Mind bending stuff.

I am sorry to have to admit that if you look back far enough in the 3dd archives you will find some comments from me to the effect that "Why Henry Drinks" is relatively minor Hood. After Wednesday and tonight, two very different versions but each terrific, that opinion has pretty much zero validity. Thanks to cooleygirl for opening my ears to hearing this one in a fresh way.

I had a strange but incredible moment during "Buttholeville/State Trooper." The thought that came to my mind as I was being carried away on a wave of musical ecstacy was that "this is routinely amazing." Say what? That's pretty much an oxymoron and it doesn't make much sense when read literally but that's where this band is at right now: they routinely amaze, astonish and delight at a level I've rarely experienced in a lifetime of listening to rock music.

Essentially, everything from "Ronnie & Neil" on was one long encore as the band kept reaching new heights and adding new twists and delightful moments to well known songs. I mean, think about that just from a showmanship perspective: From about the 8th song of a 25 song show the band kept up a level of momentum, excitement and intensity that rivals any other band's 2 or 3 song encore set.

I've been saying for a while that I think that this is absolutely the best version of the band. Obviously that's a matter of opinion and it was certainly arguable, but I'm not sure it's even arguable anymore. And after talking to a number of people this weekend I'd say that view is approaching the status of conventional wisdom (i.e. widely accepted). And I hope we don't start taking the band for granted. Jay's multi instrumental virtuosity (especially when he plays keys and guitar on the same song) is a joy to behold. I feel like Brad's drum sound is crisper and sharper than ever and he is a complete master of every tempo and style the band plays. I've been raving about Matt since he joined the band and I can't do his playing justice. But I have to say that I was glad to see more of the previously typical but seldom seen recently Matt's trademark beaming smile and occasional dancing/bopping around the stage. I'd been feeling that Matt was getting a little too John Entwhistle-y in the stoic bassman mold and it was nice to see at least something of a return to loose and joyful lform. The Dimmer Twins don't need any more praise from me but I will say that the evident joy they take in playing these days and the pride they obviously have in the band and its accomplishments is something special by itself. Also, I get such a kick out of it when all the players but Brad line up across the stage at 4 mikes. It's a very powerful presentation but beyond that it's a format that reveals the joy and pride of the players in a way I find very gratifying and a whole lot of fun.

A word about the sound & lights: The sound at the rock show has been so good for so long now that I guess i take it for granted but I shouldn't. There was a little too much feedback on Thursday (though not enough to be a problem) but on the whole the sound was crystal clear and beautifully balanced both nites- one could hear every instrument and every voice. As a matter of personal preference I tend not to care for the use of backlighting as a major element of show lighting and right now backlighting is a major component of the presentation. But it is working fantastically well and other than a couple of dark moments (which were clearly intentional just not my cup of tea) I have really been enjoying the presentation this wkend.

I am in some metaphysical way actually having a hard time believing that show I just saw really happened. It was astonishing and exciting and practically perfect in every way. The effect on the audience was obvious and overwhelming. After "Let There Be Rock" the audience was in pretty much of a frenzy and it reminded me of a highpoint moment at a Who show I experienced circa 1980 at Madison Square Garden. Yes, I'm comparing the who and 20,000 fans in an arena to DBT and 600 fans at the 40 Watt. It was that intense. Jack Flash's prediction that brains may well be splattered all over the 40 Watt was prescient yet too conservative 'cause it only took 'til Friday, not Saturday. Wow, what a show.

And there's another show to come!!!!

[chuckrh]

Glad you enjoying yourself, bubba.

[Clams]

Glad you enjoying yourself, bubba.

x2 and thanks for your reviews bubba, they are wonderful (if not maddening) for all of us who couldn't be there. I swear I don't know how you can write so eloquently (and so long!) fresh out of the rock show and especially given the hour.

But I have to ask: do you actually write these reviews or do you just copy and paste from the previous year's HC shows?