DBT Experiments at Fox Theatre  (5/13/2007)

Stood in the will-call line about ten minutes for my ticket. It was clear sailing after
that. The opening act became background for talking with friends and shopping at the
folding table. This was the final night of The Dirt Underneath Tour. About 10:35 the
technical difficulties had all been eliminated and Patterson led the band out from stage
left. Spooner Oldham and Brad Morgan took their positions behind the front line of John
Neff, Patterson Hood, Shonna Tucker and Mike Cooley.

On the first track, Bulldozers And Dirt, Patterson played a custom mini-electric guitar.
For the balance of the show everyone played acoustic instruments, except Shonna who
played electric bass. On a few tracks Cooley played banjo. Spooner Oldham had three
keyboards, one being an incredible old wooden Wurlitzer which quickly became a de-facto
parking lot for mixed drinks, a quart of Jack Daniels, and dead beer bottles. Everyone
played seated and when needed the whiskey bottled tipped back.

Spooner Oldham played clutching a cig close to the knuckle so he could still move his
fingers around the keyboard. His large green ashtray seemed as old as his chain smoking.
Spooner's syncopated harmonies wavered the spectrum of brilliant (Scared Shitless) to
unconscious. Oldham's smooth funky sound is transcending the DBT style reviving a
southern mojo not heard since the early '70s. Spooner is passing the baton... with it
the Drive-By Truckers will matrix a new Southern sound.

John Neff's steel accents and infrequent (unfortunately) guitar blasts projected a
Jekyll/Hyde that will be fully appreciated in the post summer CD electric phase.
Neff's improvisational wizardry is a critical chemical in Patterson's experiment.
Perfection of the Neff/Oldham fusion will make addicts of us all.

Close to the stage I could hear the mojo infecting Shonna's bass lines. Her expression
has gone freeform. She follows and transcends Brad Morgan's percussion. I heard old
standby DBT songs played in a way which led to different keys or beats. I'm pretty
sure that's the experiment and Patterson isn't the only instigator. During this
summer's studio recording it wouldn't surprise me if a few other musicians were
brought in by Patterson to further expand the sound.

Cooley's gruff, goateed, smoke stained vocals shook the room and the f-bombs flew as
fast as the strings twanged. Patterson made it clear that Cooley is his go-to man.
Cooley is the band's hotrod. Tonight's test flight of the Neff/Cooley synchronization
worked well and should twist within Oldham's smoke as the new Southern matrix matures.

I find this performance gratifying in many ways. These are the working man's musicians
who appreciate their fans. This band stylistically binds the generation gap with
real-life lyrics, political innuendoes and whiskey. DBT's travels bring them past a
plateau to the freeform valley, their artistic eden. There is no doubt this group can
perfect its modus operandi. If their plane doesn't crash and the motorcycle stays out
of the ditch we can count on DBT to exit from some secluded Muscle Shoal's studio with
a new CD this fall.

The Dirt Underneath Tour Playlist (5/13/2007)

1. Bulldozers And Dirt
2. A Hair To Hide (new, Cooley)
3. Nine Bullets
4. Bob (new, Cooley)
5. After The Scene Dies (new, Patterson)
6. Carl Perkin's Cadillac
7. Heathens
8. Still F#*kin' Up (new, Patterson)
9. Loaded Gun In The Closet
10. The Sands Of Iwo Jima
11. Lisa's Birthday (new, Cooley)
12. Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife (new, Patterson)
13. Daddy Needs A Drink (new, Patterson)
14. Sundown In Las Vegas (new, Cooley)
15. Guest List (new, Patterson)
16. Sounds Better In The Song
17. My Sweet Annette
18. Puttin' People On The Moon
> > Encore
19. The Living Bubba
20. Shut Up And Get On The Plane (new, Cooley)
21. Scared Shitless (new, Patterson)
22. Buttholeville
23. Mister State Trooper