Drive-By Truckers + Blitzen Trapper at The Pageant in St. Louis

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On Saturday, Drive-By Truckers and Blitzen Trapper treated a rowdy crowd to a fine performance at The Pageant. Please enjoy these photos from the show, all taken by Jason Gonulsen.

BLITZEN TRAPPER

Win Tickets to Drive-By Truckers + Blitzen Trapper at The Pageant in St. Louis on 3/29

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Photo by David McClister

Drive-By Truckers released their 12th album, English Oceans, earlier this month, and the band will be playing at The Pageant on Saturday, March 29th with Blitzen Trapper. We have TWO pairs of tickets to give away to the show, but before we get to details on how to enter, let's have a listen to "Part of Him" from English Oceans.



To enter to win a pair of tickets to Saturday's show at The Pageant, please do only ONE of the following:

1. Simply copy and paste this into a tweet: I entered to win 2 tickets to @drivebytruckers + @BlitzenTrapper on 3/29 at @thepageantstl on @speakersincode.

2. Leave us a message on our Facebook page. (Leaving a comment on our original post is fine.)

3. Send an email to: jason.speakersincode@gmail.com with the subject: "Drive-By Truckers Tickets."

The contest will run through Friday, March 28th at NOON CST, and we'll randomly pick and contact the winner later that afternoon (if  you enter through FB, we'll announce your name on our FB page). Good luck!

Concert Photos | Blitzen Trapper at Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC

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All photos by Agatha Donkar

Blitzen Trapper is such a great live band; I love their records, particularly American Goldwing, but something about the contained energy of their live show just blows me over the moon. Last night at a less-than-full but really enthusiastic Haw River Ballroom, they opened with "Love The Way You Walk Away" and then barreled through 20 other great songs from their seven full-length LPs, including upcoming VII. Having that many songs at your disposal is one of the things that leads to Blitzen Trapper's live show, because it means they never play the same set twice, and I think they pride themselves on that -- there's always a deep cut or three in their set lists, songs I never thought I'd hear.

Last night, they played a loud, long, warm set; I think that one of the best things about Blitzen Trapper is that their music fills whatever space they're playing in. It's loud, but it isn't noisy. The band just knows their songs and themselves and their audience in a way that just makes the whole live experience extra excellent. That familiarity, the way the whole band is comfortable with each other and on stage, it's the ingredient beyond great songwriting and loads of musical talent that makes them great, not just good.

Concert Photos | Blitzen Trapper at Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix

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All photos by Joe O'Toole

Blitzen Trapper recently made a stop at Phoenix's Crescent Ballroom, and one of our new contributors/photographers, Joe O'Toole was on hand to catch the action. Please enjoy his shots of the show, and be sure to visit his site here.

 

Jam of the Day | Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing

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Blitzen Trapper is back! The Portland quintet just recently confirmed that its sixth studio album, American Goldwing, will be released on September 12th - the third release for the ever-brilliant Sub Pop Records. Full of the introspective and striking storytelling that countless critics have fallen in love with, Blitzen Trapper considers subjects ranging from falling in love, to drug running good old boys, to the final high school dance.

"American Goldwing," the track, is a freewheeling ditty that balances the roughness of rock ‘n’ roll with country picking and grinning. Throw in some dirty keys, and a little slide, and this jam is ripe 'n' ready to blast out of your truck window.

Get your own copy below and ready that left arm tan.

Stereogum Pays Tribute to R.E.M.'s 'Automatic for the People'

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My junior high years were filled with a myriad of musical tastes. For a white girl in a small Southern Illinois town of only 2,800, how I managed to listen to Radiohead and Dr. Dre all at the same time is beyond me. I still pride myself on the fact that despite some obvious misteps (Bryan Adams, anyone?), two of my favorite albums from that time period are R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and Monster.

I had the biggest crush on Michael Stipe when I was fourteen years old. Once I saw him on the cover of Details, and I bought the magazine so I could hang that shot on my bedroom wall. I still remember the interview with him: his favorite color is peach, and we share the same birthday, January 4th.

When I read that Stereogum put together a tribute to Automatic for the People with artists like Blitzen Trapper, Rogue Wave, and Dr. Dog contributing tracks from that classic album, I nearly wept. Matthew Perpetua, Fluxbog founder and "R.E.M. savant" has written an extremely insightful essay about the transcental nature of Automatic to accompany the tribute.

The word "transcendental" is so accurate. "Everybody Hurts" was once the perfect soundtrack to my pubescent angst, and now it's a lament about the universality of pain. "Nightswimming" was once a rumination of grown-up love that I didn't quite understand and now it's a reflection of the puppy love to which sometimes I long to return. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" has remained a staple over the years as the perfect go-to driving-with-the-windows-down song. Some things don't change.

Thank you, Stereogum, for reminding me once again of this album's greatness. I know what I'll be listening to tonight...and all week.

Download Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic for the People here.