Drive By Truckers and Deer Tick delivered a show to delight the most ardent and discriminating of guitar devotees Friday night at Marymoor Park in Redmond. While the bands vary significantly in terms of tone and content, they both worship at the altar of The Big Guitar & Roaring Amp and cater to a crowd that shares their passion for biting solos and chunky rhythms. Threatening weather may have thinned the crowd a bit as the venue appeared to be at about half capacity but the fans that chose to brave the elements were rewarded with excellent sets from both artists.
Drive By Truckers are not your father’s southern rock band but they clearly draw musical inspiration from that genre’s tried and true heavy hitters. While the Trucker’s lyrics lean progressive politically, the sound of the band owes much to Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and a host of lesser artists generally identified as ‘southern rock’. The Truckers also proudly (and transparently) wear their Rolling Stones influences on their fringed and denim sleeves. With two talented songwriters in the band, DBT usually alternates between the co-leader’s tunes, one for Mike Cooley, then one from Patterson Hood. Cooley’s songs tend toward gritty slice o’ southern life tales while Hood is the more overtly topical writer of the two. Not to be dismissed or shortchanged is 3rd guitarist and keyboard player Jay Gonzalez (also an excellent harmony singer). His contributions go a long way toward rounding out the band’s live attack. Perennially smiling Matt Brown is ever solid on bass and longtime Truckers drummer Brad Morgan is at home keeping time on driving rockers, country-tinged shuffles and everything in between.
On their last swing through town (2024) the Truckers played their landmark 2001 release, Southern Rock Opera, in its entirety. While I enjoyed the chancce to experience SRO in a live setting, I missed hearing the band play a wider and more varied selection of tunes from their deep catalog. That itch was scratched Friday as the band played a long and varied set drawing from all phases of their career. Highlights included a brooding and edgy version of ‘Hell No I Ain’t Happy’, a stinging take on Cooley’s border/deportation tale ‘Ramon Casiano’, and a torrid cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Adam Raised a Cain’.
Rhode Island’s Deer Tick turned in a solid and well received performance to set the plate for the Drive By Truckers. This was our second time catching Deer Tick (the first being an opening slot for Jason Isbell at a Zoo show a couple years back). The band drew from last year’s ‘Contractual Obligations’ lp as well as selections from throughout their two decade career with a blazing Warren Zevon cover (‘Play It All Night Long’) thrown in for good measure. Deer Tick is a talented band and a terrific live act. I would absolutely make the effort to see them headline a show if such a thing came to pass.
