The Whigs and Drive-By Truckers deliver standout show at Paradise Rock Club
Erin Shea
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: Entertainment
03/25/08 - Boston's Paradise Rock Club got a dose of southern hospitality Saturday night courtesy of rockers The Whigs and Drive-By Truckers.
While Drive-By Truckers has always been a bit too lengthy on its CDs- which results in a lot of filler- they at least know how to put on a decent live show, giving us another reason to appreciate the band.
Older songs like "Carl Perkins' Cadillac" and "Sink Hole" sounded better than ever, despite the departure of guitarist and songwriter Jason Isbell last April.
The newer songs off Drive-By Truckers' latest album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, are, at their best, just as insightful as Isbell's songs, although not all of the songs on the album are that good.
Thankfully, the band chose most of Brighter Than Creation's Dark's better songs to perform, with the exception being the painfully slow and drawling, "Daddy Needs a Drink," which fares no better live than it does on the album.
The highlight from the show, "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife," one of the songs off of Brighter Than Creation's Dark, showed off guitarist Patterson Hood's smooth vocals.
Bassist Shonna Tucker also showed off her voice in the gorgeous "I'm Sorry Huston" but she didn't seem so put together by the end of the performance and messed up some of her words later on in the set, marring the otherwise excellent encore, which included "Let There Be Rock" and "18 Wheels of Love."
Opening act, The Whigs, was more consistently good than Drive-By Truckers, leading off the set with the infectious, "Like a Vibration," which was pleasingly similar to the album version- despite the incredibly raspy quality of the vocals on that song, which can be difficult to mimic in a live setting.
Another surprise during the set came from none other than drummer Julian Dorio. While The Whigs' last two albums have proven that he is a very competent drummer, his performance made it clear how talented he really is.
Older songs like "Technology" and "Nothing is Easy" blended in easily with the newer, more rock-oriented material, despite it clearly being more pop-based, thanks to the incredible energy the band brought to each and every song.
However, even these songs weren't perfect. The choice to perform "Sleep Sunshine" definitely wasn't the best choice the guys have ever made.
While the chilling keyboard intro and sleepy guitars were dead-on, frontman Parker Gispert's normally impressive vocals were less than stellar during the song, falling flat on several occasions.
The band came back full-swing though, performing songs like "Right Hand on My Heart" and "Already Young" with all the enthusiasm critics and fans alike know them for.
Drive-By Truckers and The Whigs are certainly among some of the most promising southern-rock acts around today and their live show, despite a few hiccups, shows that they deserve the praise.
While Drive-By Truckers has always been a bit too lengthy on its CDs- which results in a lot of filler- they at least know how to put on a decent live show, giving us another reason to appreciate the band.
Older songs like "Carl Perkins' Cadillac" and "Sink Hole" sounded better than ever, despite the departure of guitarist and songwriter Jason Isbell last April.
The newer songs off Drive-By Truckers' latest album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, are, at their best, just as insightful as Isbell's songs, although not all of the songs on the album are that good.
Thankfully, the band chose most of Brighter Than Creation's Dark's better songs to perform, with the exception being the painfully slow and drawling, "Daddy Needs a Drink," which fares no better live than it does on the album.
The highlight from the show, "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife," one of the songs off of Brighter Than Creation's Dark, showed off guitarist Patterson Hood's smooth vocals.
Bassist Shonna Tucker also showed off her voice in the gorgeous "I'm Sorry Huston" but she didn't seem so put together by the end of the performance and messed up some of her words later on in the set, marring the otherwise excellent encore, which included "Let There Be Rock" and "18 Wheels of Love."
Opening act, The Whigs, was more consistently good than Drive-By Truckers, leading off the set with the infectious, "Like a Vibration," which was pleasingly similar to the album version- despite the incredibly raspy quality of the vocals on that song, which can be difficult to mimic in a live setting.
Another surprise during the set came from none other than drummer Julian Dorio. While The Whigs' last two albums have proven that he is a very competent drummer, his performance made it clear how talented he really is.
Older songs like "Technology" and "Nothing is Easy" blended in easily with the newer, more rock-oriented material, despite it clearly being more pop-based, thanks to the incredible energy the band brought to each and every song.
However, even these songs weren't perfect. The choice to perform "Sleep Sunshine" definitely wasn't the best choice the guys have ever made.
While the chilling keyboard intro and sleepy guitars were dead-on, frontman Parker Gispert's normally impressive vocals were less than stellar during the song, falling flat on several occasions.
The band came back full-swing though, performing songs like "Right Hand on My Heart" and "Already Young" with all the enthusiasm critics and fans alike know them for.
Drive-By Truckers and The Whigs are certainly among some of the most promising southern-rock acts around today and their live show, despite a few hiccups, shows that they deserve the praise.