The first time I witnessed them in New York City on New Year’s Day 2005 I can attest that he Drive-By Truckers are one of the most electrifying live bands roaming the earth. Since 1996 Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have continually created rich and compelling stories, performed by an assemblage of dynamic counterparts, that have tackled the cultural complexity of the South.
And rocked hard doing it.
On October 30th the mighty Drive-By Truckers will release a daunting chronicle of their live greatness. “It’s a Great Time to Be Alive!” a 5 LP / 3 CD / 35-track live deluxe album recorded over three nights at San Francisco’s historic Fillmore Auditorium. The Truckers will also condense the live effort into a condensed, 13-track edition titled ‘This Weekend’s the Night.’
The set reaches back to Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley’s early band, Adam’s House Cat, and brings us up to last year’s ‘English Oceans.’
Check out the performance of their 2010 ‘The Big To-Do’ track, “Birthday Boy,†below.
‘Both It’s Great to Be Alive!’ and ‘This Weekend’s the Night’ can be pre-ordered now on the band’s website.
Deluxe Vinyl side breakdown:
1A.
Lookout Mountain
Where the Devil Don’t Stay
Sink Hole
First Air of Autumn
1B.
Made Up English Oceans
The Righteous Path
Women Without Whiskey
Mercy Buckets
2A.
The Living Bubba
Primer Coat
Tornadoes
Sounds Better in the Song
2B.
Used to Be a Cop
Shit Shots Count
Runaway Train
A Ghost to Most
3A.
Goode’s Field Road
Uncle Frank
Putting People on the Moon
3B.
Box of Spiders
When the Pin Hits the Shell
A World of Hurt
4A.
Gravity’s Gone
Pauline Hawkins
Birthday Boy
Girls Who Smoke
4B.
Get Downtown
Ronnie and Neil
Three Dimes Down
Hell No, I Ain’t Happy
5A.
Marry Me
Shut Up and Get on the Plane
Angels and Fuselage
5B.
Zip City
Grand Canyon