Drive-By Truckers, A to Z

Alabama Ass Whuppin'

Comments (0) By Chris Gray Wednesday, Sep 17 2008

The Dirty South — 2004 offstage counterpart to SRO — concept album about everyone down South who didn't want to be a rock star, and a few — whether convicts or Carl Perkins — became rock stars in spite of themselves.

Underbelly — As good a word as any for the strata of Southern society DBT delve into on every album, on nearly every song. Prime examples are Gangstabilly's "Buttholeville" and TDS's "Tornadoes"

Drive-By Truckers: You just know there's a crazy great-aunt or something in that attic up there.

Details

8 p.m. Wednesday, September 24, at Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717.

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Veterans — Weary war heroes who make frequent appearances in DBT songs; among the band's favorites among its deep roster of stoic, grimacing stock characters. See "Decoration Day," TDS's "The Sands of Iwo Jima."

"Where the Devil Don't Stay" — Menacing Hood-penned TDS opener and, overall, DBTs' hard-won domain. Also, unless you're reading this online, where you live — at least according to Joel Osteen.

Xanadu — Mythical utopia no right-thinking human being should ever confuse with DBTs' South, which although riddled with poverty, violence and despair, retains a certain hardscrabble romantic beauty.

"You and Your Crystal Meth" — Not-at-all-pleasant Cooley entry on Brighter Than Creation's Dark; still, one of the few songs in recent memory to address the teeth-grinding epidemic that has devastated the Southern underclass this decade. And continues to.

"Zip City" — Cooley's tongue-in-cheek SRO tribute to Muscle Shoals. Contains memorable line "Your Brother was the first-born, got ten fingers and ten toes / And it's a damn good thing, 'cause he needs all 20 to keep the closet door closed."

chris.gray@houstonpress.com