Thursday, Jul. 16, 2009
Drivin' N' Cryin' Rocks The Boathouse
Drivin' N' Cryin' perform at The Boathouse Waterway Bar & Grill in Myrtle Beach. - photo by Scott Smallin, Weekly Surge.
When I was a very young buck, my brother came home one night raving about this band he just saw. He said this guy was up on stage singing heart-felt country songs then suddenly he’d kick his chair out from underneath him and the band would come out and kick everyone in the teeth with powerhouse rock ’n’ roll. He was floored. So when he wasn’t around, I’d steal his cassette of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s “Scared But Smarter” and imagine I was seeing them live.
Ever since then, I never stopped listening to them. They received some national attention and had some great singles such as “Straight to Hell” and “Fly Me Courageous.” With one of those songs being on the country side, and the other being on the hard rock side, they had made themselves up to be one of the most well- rounded rock bands in the south.
So when DnC played The Boathouse on Sunday, I called up my brother and we rounded up some other family members (my sister, who is also a DnC fan, and my niece and nephew) and we headed on over for an evening of Americana meets rock.
The Boathouse backyard is the perfect place for a Sunday afternoon outing. They had the stage set up right next to the waterway, and people had blankets and chairs set up everywhere. We were able to find a place right in front of the stage. We put down our blanket, bought some beers, and watched the first band, Connor Christian and Southern Gothic, from Atlanta, Ga. They initially came off as a country band with a rock ’n’ roll attitude. One of the most impressive parts of the band was the fiddle player, Jeff Spirko. He seemed to add an authentic Americana aspect to the mix. However, somewhere in the middle of their set they started getting into a more commercial pop sound, especially with the ballad “Waiting For Princess,” which could be on a soundtrack for an annoying kids movie. Just when I lost faith in them, they played a song called “Chipping Away,” which was a great song that resembled an Irish drinking song, with well-written and clever lyrics. If they would do more songs like this, I would be a lifetime fan. They threw in a fun version of Brewer and Shipley’s “One Toke Over The Line,” a song about pot, and surprisingly threw in a cover of Guns n Roses “November Rain,” which had a very impressive fiddle solo. The other stand out cover was Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel,” which was done in Southern rock style. Despite the fact I could do without hearing some of the more commercial elements of this band, I would still recommend checking these guys out. They put on a hell of a show and have a lot of talent.
Up next was one of the first bands I can remember mixing alternative rock with Southern music, Atlanta’s Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. Kevin Kinney came out dressed all in black, wearing a black captain’s hat, like he was ready to take us on a boat ride straight to hell (pun intended). They started out with a bluesy dirty rock riff soaked version of “Hoochie Coochie Man,” originally written by Willie Dixon, but loosely interpreted, making it into a DnC original. The second song was “Honeysuckle Blue.” This song is one of their best, meshing all the best elements of the band, and adding some great three-part harmonies. From there on out, they covered most of their catalog.
Kinney has a knack for improv. In the middle of most the songs he’d do some story telling, or just throw some thoughts out at the crowd. During the song “Let’s Go Dancing,” he had some commentary on the computer age: “They say you can find true love on the internet, but isn’t it more fun just having a conversation with someone?” Then he went into a story: “I was having lunch with some old friends of mine, and they started pulling out their text messaging machines, and talking to each other with those things. I started feeling left out so I went next door to the pawn shop, bought a typewriter, and wrote them all a letter.” He somehow managed to carry this banter into an introduction for a Nirvana cover, where he claimed, “all we know is all we are” and went into “All Apologies.” The drummer, Dave Johnson, sang lead on this one. They ended their set with their hit, “Straight to Hell,” which had everyone singing along.
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ still has it. They have been releasing records since 1986, but stopped releasing new material after 1997. Due to the fact that they are still an amazing band, we can just hope they start recording new songs again. The show at the Boathouse was a good one. I hope DnC comes back soon.