When I posted my "Take" of the Grammys, I was notified by a reader that J Roddy Walston and the Business were playing at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I am typically opposed to travelling to DC to see music. I feel that if the band does not deem Baltimore a significant enough city to play here, then I do not deem them significant enough to travel to see them. It does seem a bit petty, but hey that's just how I feel. However, I really did want to see J Roddy Walston and this time they were opening for The Drive By Truckers who I had never seen and had always heard great things about their shows. My buddy Steve is a big fan of DBT so we agreed to drive down together. Problem was that we only had one ticket between the two of us and the show was sold out. Compounding the problem was that my friends BJ and Andy also decided to come with us. Further compounding the problem was that dinner with my family took a bit longer than I expected. After some discussion with the fellas, we decided to still make the drive, knowing full well that we may not get in. At 7:45, the 4 of us with one ticket left Catonsville. While approaching the area of the 9:30 Club we had to take a detour. About 20 police cars and 9 square blocks that were "caution-taped" delayed our arrival even further (I didn't need to leave Baltimore to see a crime scene). Arriving outside of the 9:30 Club we solicited many people for 3 other tickets. Unfortunately for us there were also many other people soliciting tickets to this sold out show. Unsuccessful, we went across the street to the local pub, Duffy's, hoping that someone had tickets there. Nope, still nothing. Determined to get tickets, I headed back outside to brave the elements (without a jacket) to find my "miracle". A half of an hour went by and I asked literally hundreds of people for extra tickets...still nothing. During this time, I can hear J Roddy through the doors crushing it. Finally, a guy walked up who had an extra, in fact, he had 3 extras! However, he had already been approached by another guy (who I had befriended while scouring the corner of V St and 9th St). The seller's wife really wanted to sell to me the tickets since they had 3 tickets and I needed 3 tickets, however, I told them it would not be right to shut out the other buyer, so I agreed to take the remaining 2 tickets. Pleased with my efforts, I ran back to Duffy's to give my three friends their tickets and headed back outside to find that one elusive ticket. Aggressively working the corner like a prostitute on "rent day" I was becoming discouraged. Then J Roddy's set ended, my energy ran low, and my hands were numb so I went back to Duffy's. I figured that the 4 of us would head back out and surely come upon just 1 one ticket. The four of us went back out and worked the corner as a team, but at this point the Drive By Truckers had begun their set and traffic into the venue had slowed to a trickle. BJ had an idea, he said that we could sell one ticket and that he and Andy would head back to Duffy's, thus allowing Steve and I to go into the concert. At first Steve and I refused, but at the behest of Andy and BJ, we finally acquiesced and ventured into the show.
At first, we stood in the back to hear "Do It Yourself", "Gravity's Gone" and "The Company I Keep". Then, Steve and I relocated to the other side of the club and were able to get pretty close (albeit directly in front of the speaker) for the rest of the show. At this point I knew everyone in the 9:30 Club because I either solicited them for a ticket or hung outside with them while trying to buy tickets. They played a few new songs off of their new album Go-Go Boots. I enjoyed their rendition of the first single "Everybody Needs Love"
which is sung by the more mellow "Eddie Hinton". Other highlights of the show included "Dead, Drunk and Naked" and "Hell No I Ain't Happy" with Patterson Hood on lead vocals. Towards the end of the show, a bottle of Jack Daniels was passed around which seemed to give the fellas one last burst of energy as they ripped through "Let There Be Rock" and "Shut Up and Get On The Plane". The finale was not the "Zip City" that many people were praying for (they played it the night before) but was an enthusiastic "Lookout Mountain".
I am definitely still bummed that I missed J Roddy Walston and The Business, but at least I got my first DBT experience. It was a good show and I would like to see them again but will not travel to DC to see them, especially without a ticket!!!!!
Here is a video I took during the show. The quality is not great but it is all I got. He gives a "shout out" To J Roddy Walston and The Business.
Drive By Truckers 2/19/11 "Let There Be Rock" and "Shut Up and Get On a Plane"
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