Photo by Matt Riley

The floor of Missoula’s Wilma Theatre was still covered with brightly-colored confetti from the previous night’s Girl Talk show, but Tuesday night’s crowd full of flannel and cowboy boots wasn’t there for props or party favors. They were there for pure, simple rock and roll, Drive-by Truckers style.

The opening act, Ohio’s Heartless Bastards, warmed up the evening with a robust set of Americana with a classic rock vibe. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom pushed their songs forward with a unique, powerful voice, not ballsy or bluesy, but commanding and soul-baring nonetheless. The band’s sound was simplistic, but it got to the point and filled the Theatre with a no-frills authority that kept the audience in rapt attention.

Drive-By Truckers took the stage after an intermission with the nonchalance of a garage band walking into a downtown bar gig instead of playing to a sold-out crowd at one of the biggest venues in town. Despite already becoming one of the year’s biggest buzz bands, the group showed little interest in cultivating rock star egos, letting their songs provide the swagger. Guitarist and singer Mike Cooley stepped up to the microphone and kicked off their set with “Where the Devil Don’t Stay,” instantly satisfying fans of the band’s older material. Cooley’s southern twang and punk-rock sneer showed off the band’s boisterous country-rock side and guitarist John Neff immediately tore into a solo that had audience raising their fists in rock-horns salute. All night long the band’s three-guitar onslaught proved this is a classic guitar hero band, sometimes complete with Skynyrd-inspired harmonized solos, Even singer and guitarist Patterson Hood stepping forward with a lead guitar voice more often than usual.

Unfortunately, the band’s wall of guitar sound often was simply too loud. The mix was muddy, and some of the band’s brilliant storytelling got lost in translation. After the Cooley-sang “Self Destructive Zone,” one crowd member up front yelled that he couldn’t hear Hood’s singing, to which he replied “I wasn’t singing that one, I don’t know if that makes a difference.” Most of the audience was unfazed by the lack of clarity, however, apparently knowing the lyrics by heart and singing along throughout the entire night. Cooley and Hood swapped vocal duties on nearly every other song, stitching together a career-spanning setlist that ranged from the swampy title track off their latest album, “Go-Go Boots” to the gritty rock tune “Steve Mcqueen” off their first album. Hood evoked images of an early-‘70s era Neil Young, digging into his guitar with unbridled passion and grinning with the enthusiasm of a kid who just showed up to his own birthday party. Bassist Shonna Tucker only stepped up to sing one song, and keys player Jay Gonzalez stayed buried behind the guitar frontline for most of the show, but let loose with slabs of organ and some great piano solos on rare occasion.

Much of the middle of the show was built upon mid-tempo rockers on par with the vibe of the “Go-Go Boots” album the Truckers were touring in support of. Hood’s soulful number “Everybody Needs Love” complemented the stained-glass style backdrops the band played in front of, transforming a Tuesday night at the Wilma into a church service that preached rock and roll gospel with conviction. Interaction with the crowd was minimal – “Last time I was here I left a Lionel Richie shirt, if anybody has it I’d like it back,” Cooley said at one point – instead, the focus was firmly on the music, moving effortlessly between genres all dripping with gothic southern style. The band kicked back into high gear for the last half dozen songs, with Cooley stealing the show on “Straight Shot,” strutting from one end of the stage to another, tearing through a fiery guitar solo. “You know, we never do this any more,” Hood said before singing the final lyrics of “Steve Mcqueen” and launching immediately into a cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen,” proclaiming once and for all that DBT are a rock band who have paid their dues.

After a break, the Truckers returned to the stage to a deafening crowd response,and with a shit-eating grin Hood proclaimed, “If y’all ain’t carefull we’ll load y’all up and drive y’all to Boise!” The band tore through “Birthday Boy‘” and “Hell No, I Ain’t happy,” and a roadie walked onstage with a bottle of Jack Daniels, which Hood insisted the roadie take the first drink of before passing the bottle around. During “Zip City” Hood had his trademark Rock ‘n’ Roll religion moment, sinking to his knees and pulling tortured notes out of his guitar with eyes closed and sweat pouring from his brow. The group ended the show with “Let There Be Rock,” and the guitarists lined up at the front of the stage for a Thin Lizzy-style guitar harmony solo that sent the crowd out the doors of the theater with ears ringing and smiles firmly in place.