Superdrag Bring Knoxville To NYC

My first ever concert in NYC was a Superdrag show at Bowery Ballroom in 2000. I had recently moved to the city for college, and I went to this concert by myself, also experiencing the Bowery and its sea of homeless for the first time. It was 2000 and the Mets were in the World Series at the time. I proudly wore my old, dirty Mets hat, and a drunken bum attempted to hug me on the street, in celebration of the Mets. At the venue, that weird, scared feeling was abandoned when Superdrag totally rocked the house.

7 years later, Superdrag returned from a hiatus, with their original lineup of John Davis, Don Coffey Jr., Tom Papas, and Brandon Fisher, and this time they rocked The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. I was there, still wearing that grimy Mets hat, although this year wasn’t nearly as successful as in 2000.

Two fellow Knoxville acts opened the show. Mic Harrison (a one time member of Superdrag) and his band The High Score, started it all out with a set of Honky Tonk that transported the crowd to the south. Stewart Pack, who told the crowd that he met John Davis in a pawn shop, followed Harrison with a strong performance of catchy rock and roll.

At 10:45, the packed crowd went crazy as Superdrag took the stage and ripped into the immediately recognizable riff of “Whitey’s Theme.” For the next two hours, Superdrag ruled the world, as the entire audience sang along with every word, filling the venue with an uncontrollably positive energy. The humble Davis, and his band mates took little time between songs, playing one after another after another, each as good as the last. Superdrag broke their set into three sections, beginning with their early material, playing nearly every song off of their debut lp Regretfully Yours, and mixing in some older rarities like “Senorita.” They followed with a bunch of material off of their 2nd and 3rd lps Head Trip in Every Key and In The Valley of Dying Stars, playing songs that were rarely heard live in the past, like “I’m Expanding My Mind” and “Unprepared.” To close out the lengthy night the band returned to the earlier material for their encore, with the brilliant guitar frenzies of “Destination Ursa Major” and “Rocket.”

Every minute was phenomenal, with the band and crowd feeding off each other’s energy. Superdrag had no dull moments during the entire set, with bassist Tom Papas often adding to the performance with hilarious banter, and big stage jumps. This brilliant performance was just another testament to how Superdrag is one of the most overlooked band of the last 15 years. Rarely does a band perform with such great songs as enthusiastically and energetically as this Knoxville quartet has over the years.

Hopefully this is not the last that New York has seen of Superdrag.

Photos courtesy of [Jonny-Leather]