this one
There wasn't any crying at Cliffhanger's on September 11, unless it was crying for more of the hard-edged, melodic sound of Drivin'-N-Cryin'.
Opening was Big Wheel, whose solid set of originals served to warm up the crowd as well as to continue building their own following.
The full crowd was anxious to see Drivin'-N-Cryin', however, and the band wasted no time getting into gear, opening with a rendition of Cheap Trick's "Are You Ready to Rock?" It was a question the crowd was eager to answer in the affirmative and it didn't let up for the next hour and forty-plus minutes.
Drivin'-N-Cryin' is touring in support of a new release, Smoke. They showed off a lot of the new material from it, including "Turn It Up or Turn It Off," "Whiskey Soul Woman," "Smoke," and the newest single, "If I Was Born on the Right Side of Town."
The fans were not denied Drivin'-N-Cryin's old tunes, however, as the group romped through "Build a Fire," "Fly Me Courageous," and even a hard version of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." They covered the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard," which pretty much summed up the good time, positive approach with which Drivin'-N-Cryin' comes across on stage.
The fans were really singing along on Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and by the time the non-stop, exhaustingly long performance closed, everyone seemed to have had their fill of loud jams and cool liquids.
Drivin'-N-Cryin's tight-knit sound comes from years of road seasoning. With Kevin Kinney on vocals and guitar, Tim Nielsen providing the thick bass underpinnings as well as back-up vocals, Buren Fowler on lead and Jeff Sullivan on the drums, Drivin'-N-Cryin' is a solid unit with which to showcase the songwriting of Kinney and Nielsen.
At a post-show interview, Kinney was asked why the band covered the Cheap Trick tunes "Surrender" and "Are You Ready to Rock?" He explained that Drivin'-N-Cryin' had been on the same bill with Cheap Trick the week before. Playing the Cheap Trick songs was just a way to acknowledge the two bands' compatible styles.
Kinney plays a '60s model Mosrite guitar, which sounded even better live than on record. He also mentioned that he has released a solo collection of "folk" songs.