"Once upon a time my dream was to play in a Rock and Roll Band..." begins the Patterson Hood-penned liner notes of the Drive-By Truckers new 5 LP / 3 CD live record. A deluxe album recorded over three nights at San Francisco's historic Fillmore Auditorium, It's Great To Be Alive! is 35 tracks of Drive-By Truckers history.
NPR Music announced the album today; you can find the live version of "Birthday Boy" and Ann Powers' Q&A with Patterson regarding the record and the band's extensive history HERE. The album is now also available for pre-order at iTunes and the band's website.
"We originally began thinking of 'The Live Album' (as we called it for several years) as first and foremost a collection of songs spanning our entire career as DBT," Patterson explained further in the liner notes. "Part of the joy of this incarnation of the band has been digging back and seeing what this band can do with songs from various periods of our history. I'm proud of every lineup we've had and of the records that we've made, but this incarnation has brought a primal energy and personal camaraderie to the process that takes it all to new levels and we've been really excited about capturing that."
Two versions of this release will be made available; It's Great To Be Alive! is the full 35-track record as a five vinyl / three CD set and This Weekend's The Night is a two vinyl, thirteen track version.
In addition to this massive record the band will also be hitting the road this August; all upcoming dates including those with Alabama Shakes are listed below.
TOUR DATES
8/15 - Edwards, CO - EDFEST at Freedom Park
8/16 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
8/18 - Dallas, TX - Verizon Theater at Grand Prairie*
8/20 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Tuscaloosa Amphitheater*
8/22 - Orange Beach, AL - Amphitheater at the Wharf*
9/11 - Urbana, IL - Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Guitar Festival
9/12 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Nightclub
9/13 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Revival
9/15 - Greensboro, NC - The Cone Denim Center
9/17 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts*
9/18 - Washington DC - Merriweather Post Pavilion*
9/19 - New York, NY - Forest Hills Stadium*
10/9 - Augusta, GA - Jessye Norman Amphitheater
10/10 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live Theatre
10/11 - Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre
10/13 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
10/15 - Austin, TX - The Scoot Inn
10/16 - New Braunfels, TX - Gruene Hall
10/17 - New Orleans, LA - Joy Theater
10/20 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
10/21 - Baton Rouge, LA - Varsity Theatre
10/22 - Hattiesburg, MS - Brewsky's
10/23 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre
10/24 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
* with Alabama Shakes
