If you have an opportunity to see the Drive-By Truckers in concert, throw on your mesh cap and run, don't walk, to the appropriate venue. Live, the band plays a tight and powerful variation on the updated Southern rock they present on their albums. The enthusiasm and improvisation the band brings to the stage makes their best songs near legendary and recontextualizes weaker material, finding diamonds in the rough storytelling and vocal eccentricities that flatten studio cuts. While Jason Isobell and Patterson Hood lead the band with their songwriting abilities and vocal harmonies, Mike Cooley emerged as the surprise star during the Drive-By Truckers' Saturday night Belle Chere performance.

Cooley's guitar solos alternated between tender and scorching, finding the deeper emotion in the sometimes well-trodden stories of outlaw life. As the night wore on, the band left behind newer material for fan favorites from Decoration Day and Southern Rock Opera, winning an increasingly loyal crowd as they went. Few bands outside the mainstream can inspire the mass sing-alongs, pole climbing and general abandon associated with the great rock bands of the previous generation.

While the Drive-By Truckers may walk an increasingly fine line between homage and exaltation of life on the economic fringes, they provide a refreshing alternative for Asheville music fans exhausted with asymmetrical haircuts, newly pressed ironic t-shirts and teenagers jockeying for stage-front positions.

- Kristen Luther

Point.

First of all, I was late for the concert because a friend of mine just had to get beer. But anyway? (hehe). Blues Traveler, for people not in the know, is a bluesy jam band that absolutely rocks out their concerts. Saturday night at Bele Chere was no exception. The bass jamming and John Popper’s harmonica solos that last longer than a road trip to the moon were in full force with all the band members present, plus Derek Trucks’ special appearance. (Insert sarcastic surprise here)

Those of us who weren’t pissed off that we had to pay $15 to get in (and some who were but did anyway) were treated to a concert that will be hailed as one of Bele Chere’s best. It was amazing the hateful words I heard walking around because you had to pay a whole $15 to get in. C’mon, $15 for Blues Traveler is a steal.

The set list was pretty standard for a festival type concert. It had the requisite chart toppers “Run Around” and “Hook” in the mix, some of their lesser known songs to get people more acquainted with what they’re like when not on the radio, and songs from their new album coming out in September thrown in as well.

When they finished the initial set, it didn’t take long for them to come out for the encore (I think people were about to rush the stage). When Popper got to the mic, he exclaimed that we were “abso-fucking-lutely awesome.” The excitement rumbled and roared because the crowd was about to hear more, we were just complimented and John Popper said “fuck.” We were pumped. The night ended with an audience participation version of “The Mockingbird Song,” with Popper’s own flare to it, ending the concert as silly as the band itself.- Jesse Lee

Counterpoint.

Derek Trucks is a damn good guitarist. His band sounded very much like a more world influenced Allman Brothers (with which he also performs) and included a utility man who switched between tasteful organ and flute playing. Truck’s wife, Susan Tedeschi, joined the ensemble for a couple songs and her breathy voice complimented the music well. But the musical highlight for me was the set ending instrumental and highly improvisational version of “My Favorite Things.”

Blues Traveler then came on and proved once again that promising young bands too often fall apart and/or get worse with age.

Gone was the grit and fire that they displayed on their 1990 self-titled debut and at their late ‘80s and early ‘90s live shows. It sounded like they were trying to reclaim some of that improvisational spirit with a few newer, longer form songs, but the jams lacked focus and energy.

Guitarist Chan Kinchla’s solos were nothing more than exercises in blues-rock cliché, and although Popper’s harmonica playing is always somewhat technically dazzling, his lines felt noodly and directionless. His voice was good though and at a few points he sustained notes for what seemed like inhuman amounts of time.

Another good moment came when Trucks’ sat in with them for a delightful take on Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” which a friend told me Sam Bush was covering down the street at exactly the same time.- Jake Frankel

With his widely acclaimed 2003 release Sin-A-Matic, and his near constant touring across the U.S. and Europe ever since, New York MC Louis Logic has established himself as one of the finest rappers in the underground world. He specializes in sharp wit and dark humor, with his tightly delivered lyrics covering everything from political and racial issues to the joys of binge drinking and deviant sex.

No stranger to Asheville, his penchant for the perverse got him into trouble last summer when, according to a tour blog entry he wrote, a woman reacted to his song “Coochie Coup” and “stormed out of the Writer’s Block, slamming the door twice during my set.” But he says her lack of a sense of humor will not deter him from coming back to a town he goes on to describe as “a wonderful bubble in the musty urinal of the South with totally cool audiences.”

Indeed, his bond with the Land of the Sky runs strong, with Asheville native DJ Equal serving as his long time tour partner, and Asheville favorites Brycon & Equal joining him on the national “One Crazy Summer Tour.” The tour’s local stop at Stella Blue on August 27 will also feature Gus Cutty of IRONFIST, the Hunab Kru Breakers, and Red Tide.

Busy touring, working on his next album with producer J.J. Brown and writing for Elemental magazine, Louis was still gracious enough to take some time out ahead of the Asheville show for some silly email Q/A correspondence with the Asheville Disclaimer.

AD: Care to share any tour stories about DJ Equal that he would be embarrassed for his friends back home to know about? Louis: Hmm. I'm usually not there for the more embarrassing moments. He disappears at the end of the show and merchandise selling/signing. When he reappears in the morning, he's got the shame all over his face and on his breath. That's as much as I can tell you without betraying the poor fella's trust, and compromising my working relationship. Boys will be boys.

AD: What CD are you listening to the most right now? Why?

Louis: All things Rufus Wainwright, but particularly “Want One” and “Want Two.” As far as I'm concerned you don't need a reason to listen to Rufus, he's brilliant, but for argument's sake, let's say it's in preparation for the Ben Folds and Rufus show I'm going to tonight. Yay for me! Oh, wait, did you mean what hip hop cd? I don't know... Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. It's my favorite rap album.

AD: What are your three favorite MCs ever?

Louis: I don't have three favorite MC's. I don't have one favorite MC. I like certain songs, albums, rhymes. It's difficult to express my appreciation for rap music, because I'm knee deep in making it. I listen from such a clinical standpoint these days. I think once you start making a particular kind of art, you are somewhat tainted as an appreciator because of the insight you gain into the creative process behind said art. I don't hear a great song and go, "Wow, it's like magic!" The fan thing is over for me. All I hear these days is great execution, or the lack of it. That's still enjoyable for me, but it kind of kills the whole idol worship thing.

AD: Do you have any hopes of staying relatively underground and making a decent living or are you planning to write an incredibly catchy pop hit and get super, super famous?

Louis: Ha! That's not really up to me. I've already written what I consider some very catchy material, and I'm still an underground act. That's okay with me. I don't need MTV's accolades to feel good about my art. I don't even need MTV-sized money. I'd be quite happy with a nice 1000-person audience at most of my shows. I'm not there yet, but I think I have it in me to get to that point. I think 2006 will be a year of considerable development for me. Get at me then, and we'll talk about where I'm heading.

AD: If you had to be roommates with either Notorious BIG or Tupac for a year, (assuming they were both still alive) who would you pick and why?

Louis: I haven't had a male roommate since my freshmen year of college. Even a like-minded individual would annoy me to no end. I don't think I could stand it. I guess if I was forced to do it, I'd try to extract something from it worth writing about. I guess I'd pick the bigger freakshow of the two, probably Tupac cause I'm certain it would make for some funny stories.

AD: You’ve toured extensively around Europe and the US. What country do you think has the hottest women? What city in the US has the hottest women? What makes them hotter than the rest? How do Asheville women compare in your opinion? Can you give me any of their phone numbers?

Louis: I'm a Scandinavian diplomatic delegate. Those Viking girls come from good stock, man. You've never been surrounded by so many naturally beautiful people in your life. Even the guys are pretty. It's kind of creepy. I get the impression that Americans feel pretty awkward swimming in these waters, with our inflated waistlines and greasy bad skin. Still, I have love for the ladies of all lands, and Asheville is no exception to this declaration. I get the impression that the adorable little ladies I've met playing in Asheville are just that (little, that is) so it's handshakes and hugs, but hey I still enjoy the atmosphere their presence creates.

AD: Could you please write a Haiku poem (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables) about why people should come see you in Asheville at Stella Blue?

Louis: Don't test me Jacob I know what a Haiku is I'm not dumb, you know

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