For the last 40 years or so, Atlanta’s Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ has been one of the best hard rock bands that the South has produced. It has also been one of the best folk bands. Oh, and one of the best country bands.
In other words, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ can be a totally different band from one moment to the next, and that’s especially true of its live shows, like the one coming up at the Charleston Pour House on Nov. 29.
Depending on how the band is feeling, you might hear a set of hard-rocking riff monsters like “Fly Me Courageous” or “Build A Fire,” from its 1990 gold album Fly Me Courageous. Or you might hear alt-country gems like “Honeysuckle Blue” or “Ain’t It Strange” from 1989’s Mystery Road, perhaps the band’s most beloved album.
And don’t worry, you’ll definitely hear “Straight to Hell,” with its classic chorus of “I’m going straight to hell/Just like my mama said” becoming a crowd singalong at every show.
And that’s how Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s frontman, songwriter and guitarist Kevn Kinney likes it: No set lists, ever.
Kinney, bassist Tim Nielsen and drummer Dave Johnson have around 100 songs ready to go at any given moment, depending on how Kinney perceives the mood of the day or the audience itself.
“Earlier in life, I would make set lists,” Kinney said in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper. “And then I would play those songs at the sound check. Then four hours later, it’s the show, and I don’t feel like playing that song now because I already played it. Now I’m only playing it because I said I would play it, and I’m not doing the best version of it.”
“Now, before we go out, I don’t even know what the first song is,” Kinney continued. “I say, ‘Let me look at the audience and then I’ll decide.’ ”
That approach basically means every Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ show is typically completely different from the last, and Kinney says he’s thrilled to be bringing that unpredictability back to the Pour House, one of the band’s most beloved tour stops.
“I love that it’s like 20 miles from the Windjammer,” he said with a laugh. “The Windjammer is like our summer gig and then the fall gig is the Pour House. I really love that south part of Charleston. The whole Folly Beach area still has this rogue kind of purity to it. And of course, I really love the owners, and I love that it’s an independent venue, and I think they’re great people.”
If you’re a longtime Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ fan — someone who is thrilled to the stylistic twists and turns on Mystery Road or Fly Me Courageous — you might have noticed three names in the band lineup instead of four.
Since Mystery Road, it had been a four-piece band, with a revolving lead guitar spot that has featured former Jason and the Scorchers guitarist Warren Hodges and Sadler Vaden from Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit.
But the band started as a trio in 1985, and that’s how it will be set up at the Pour House.
Longtime guitarist Laur Joamets is on tour with Sturgill Simpson at the moment.
“I’ve always been graced with some of the world’s greatest guitar players,” Kinney said. “So I really had to start practicing when Laur went with Sturgill. I set up a little amp by my dining room chair and started playing. And I’ve been listening to a lot of three-piece rock bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience.”
“I’ve really been enjoying it,” he continued. “I take advantage of the space, and I can really explore some psychedelic stuff.”
Fans at the Pour House show will also hear songs from Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s as-yet-unreleased new album, tentatively titled Crushing Flowers. And the good news for fans is that Kinney planned this album by looking back at the band’s most beloved releases.
“It’s like Mystery Road or Fly Me Courageous,” he said. “It’s a hybrid of hard rock, some really interesting psychedelia and some beautiful folk music. I wrote all of it specifically for Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ fans.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 29. Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway, Charleston. $25-$30. charlestonpourhouse.com
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