Why yes, the Shoals does rock

Iwish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone use the phrase, "It's like we were someplace other than Florence."

That phrase or something similar has been used particularly by rock music fans enjoying themselves in a way they're not used to doing at home.

The particular events that prompted music fans to express these feelings were two recent shows at the Shoals Theatre featuring the rock band The Drive-By Truckers.

The Truckers are based in Athens, Ga., but founders, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, and bassist Shonna Tucker all have strong ties to the Shoals.

Their songs are filled with references to places such as Zip City, Colbert Heights and Salem Church of Christ. Primary songwriters Hood and Cooley frequently take experiences from their youth and craft them into songs.

Hood joked during one of the shows that using real people in songs can be touchy at times, "especially when they come to the shows," but adds that "it's better to be remembered in a song than not remembered at all."

Hood also has said many times that he'd love for his band to play at home, but that it lacked the proper venue.

Last week, the Shoals Theatre proved to be a venue capable of allowing the Truckers to unleash their high-energy rock show to audiences that are frequently forced to go elsewhere for a hard rock experience.

Hood touched on that aspect of his youth during the song "Let There Be Rock," in which he talks about his experiences at a Blue Oyster Cult concert he attended in Huntsville many years ago.

I can identify with Hood's frustration because I also frequently traveled out of town to see rock bands when I was younger and was at the show referenced in the song.

Last week, however, rock fans were traveling to the Shoals to see a band instead of the reverse.

The highly anticipated shows at Shoals Theatre drew Truckers' fans from as far away as Jackson, Miss., Ashville, S.C., and Washington, D.C.

Truckers' fans have called the shows "epic" and the "best sets ever," according to a recent blog posted by Hood.

The shows, as well as a Music for Marines benefit featuring local favorites Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Sons of Roswell, Barrelmouth and 1 Way Street, and a show by the Alabama Blues Brothers, prove that the Shoals is ready to host rock shows on par with those of surrounding "big cities."

The key to keeping this trend alive, which to me was jump started when Isbell held a CD release show at the Shoals Theatre in February, is attending the shows.

If there aren't enough warm bodies to fill the seats, rock fans will soon find themselves back on the road.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5838 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.