The Dirty Truckers @ Moe’s Lounge 10.12.2012

Hot, loud, sweaty and a little rambunctious could describe just about any Dirty Truckers gig. Confining the band and their cohorts to Moe’s Lounge made it inevitable at Bands For Babs.

The Dirty Truckers @ Radio 5.4.2012

The Dirty Truckers were back in action Friday night. The band was celebrating the release of their new Tiger Stripes EP and the 7″ single for the song “Human Contact.” It had been a while since the last time I saw these Boston wranglers. I was starting to get the shakes. Their set at Radio was just what I needed. The Dirty Truckers blasted out one of the best sets I’ve ever seen them play. They played the new stuff. They played the old stuff.* They rocked the in-between stuff like nobody’s business. “Sea Pines” and “3 Weeks To Go” blew the doors off the joint.** They threw in a couple of covers to keep themselves honest. In the end, the ‘Truckers reminded everyone that they’re one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands around, not that we’d forgotten.

* Including “Backpack” from their first record.

** Both off of 2008’s fantastic Loose In The Joints

The Dirty Truckers @ Radio 10.8.2011

Nicole Tammaro once commented: “Dirty Truckers shows are fun. Everybody plays. Everybody gets up on stage.”

The Dirty Truckers show at Radio was fun. Everybody played. Everybody got on stage.

The Dirty Truckers – Washed & Ready (2006)


The Dirty Truckers
Washed & Ready
2006

Washed & Ready is another batch of gritty rock n’ roll tunes from The Dirty Truckers. Tom Baker is still at the wheel, but the rest of his crew has changed. Dave Foy replaces Jim Delios behind the drums and Tad Overbaugh joins in on guitar. Most importantly, long time ‘Trucker Jamie Griffith makes his debut on bass.

Tom still draws from the well of The Replacements on songs like “Off The Hook”, “Without A Sound” and “All She Ever Wanted,” but the songs are catchier this time around. “Heavy Metal Weekend” begs for a crowd sing-along (and gets it during live performances). The ‘90s indie rock influences that occasionally popped up on Bush League Romance are gone, replaced by a more straight up rock & roll feel. It’s a revved-up romp in the vein of The Rolling Stones (“Not Missing A Thing”) and Tom Petty (“Cunnin’”).

Like their debut album, Washed & Ready features two cover tunes. “Help You Ann” (Lyres) is solid and energetic. The album closer, Nick Lowe’s “Ragin Eyes”, features a fantastic harmonica solo by Jed Parish (The Gravel Pit).

Six years is a long time between albums. Thankfully Washed & Ready delivers more of what you would expect from The Dirty Truckers.

Where to get it:

The Rudds @ The Rosebud Bar 3.24.2011

What do you get when you take 1/2 of the original incarnation of The Rudds and mix it with 3/4 of the latest version of The Dirty Truckers? The Ruddy Truckers? The Dirty Rudders? Son Of The Rudds, as the posters advertising the show suggested?

Whatever the name, it rocks in a very entertaining way. Here are some pictures of John, John, John and Jamie from The Rosebud.