DBT at the Clay Center

In case you missed the announcement, the Clay Center has published their new schedule. Among the highlights, the Drive By Truckers are coming back in November. The band recently played Mountain Stage, but Patterson Hood was pretty much the walking dead and the show was very downbeat for what was expected. More than a few people were disappointed.

Anyway, I was digging through my old files and found a rough draft on a Drive By Trucker article I wrote a couple of years ago. Three years back, I did an insane number of All Good festival articles. There was just so many choices, I was kind of like a kid in a candy store and really lost track of who I scheduled. So, Patterson Hood just calls up one afternoon. We had an appointment. I hadn't written it down. I wasn't prepared, didn't have my notes and so we winged it. The results were a bit --eh, but that happens when you're unprepared, haven't listened to the album and only vaguely know who they are.

Three years ago, I didn't know who a lot of people are. This is the kind of job where you're always going to be at least a little behind.

Anyway, most of the good stuff, I had to leave out of the article, including the part about him toking his first joint here in Charleston -which was funny and should be printed on state tourism flyers. "West Virginia: a place to smoke pot." He might have even seen his first pair of live, naked breasts here, but my memory is a little faulty on the subject. Someone told me this was the town where their first concert here was also the place where they saw their first set of beer-drenched tits.

This should also be printed on tourism flyers.

Anyway, Hood and company are headed back for a show that will hopefully redeem their lesser loved recent performance... what would be funny is if Niko Case was the opening act, but I'm not holding my breath.

He may have a point...

First, here's Mona's review of last night's Mountain Stage show.

Now, here's Hippie Killer's review of Neko Case and a post, in general, about Mountain Stage and what could be a perception problem among some of the indie artists.

I hear things, sometimes. And Mountain Stage has certainly gotten their share of douche bags over the years. If you catch the gang in the right mood, they'll tell you who is a dick and who isn't (off the record)... and um... they told me in confidence, so I won't name names here. I do know a couple of people who will not be coming back any time soon, who were problem children and the staff doesn't want to deal with them again unless they have to. One of them is dead, so it's not a big deal. Another is one of my favorites and she hung them out to dry on a fit about billing. The third was a pain in the ass, whom the host of the show said he wished someone would have slapped her parents for raising her to be such a self-absorbed jerk.

I think he's right. Case shouldn't have been starting over and over. She's lucky she didn't get booed, which would have made for really "great" radio. Pretty clearly, she didn't get the show or why she was there. Case shouldn't be thinking she's doing Mountain Stage a favor by playing their dinky little radio show. She ought to be thinking they're doing her a favor by letting her come on their show and play on a hundred radio stations across America for twenty minutes.

Maybe I should have used that ticket.