Still, the Truckers delivered a strong set that drew heavily on their new album, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" (New West Records) and reached back to their 1998 debut, "Gangstabilly." The set showcased the range of styles the band has stockpiled in its arsenal over nearly a decade, and it also included a lead vocal debut by Shonna Tucker with "I'm Sorry, Huston."

The Truckers show they're not satisfied to rest on their substantial laurels, giving their fans a healthy dose of new material.

As longtime Trucker fans know, the band is anchored by the songwriting talents of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. And over the course of the night, which began at 10:30 after a marquee-worthy performance by opening band, the Felice Brothers, both Hood and Cooley showed they are still very much in control.

Hood's standout moments were in "Putting People on the Moon" and "The Night G.G. Allin Came to Town." His spoken interlude in "G.G. Allin" brought to life the band's deep, Southern roots, with mention of "Ferguson's Café," where "macaroni and cheese is always a vegetable."

Cooley was at his best in "Self-Destructive Zones" which, though new, felt immediately like a Truckers' classic.

The band took an unusually long time to rev up at the Palladium, and Hood seemed to have trouble mustering his usual abandon until as late as the encore. Only when the band began to play "Buttholeville," did Hood really let go, handing his guitar to a roadie, and coming out from behind the instrument to attack the microphone both physically and emotionally. Hood then bled Springsteen's "State Trooper" seamlessly in and out of the Truckers' "Buttholeville."

That kind of move is the hallmark of the Drive-by Truckers. It's what makes you go to their shows in the first place. You go because the music is going to be loose, and you put yourself in Hood's able hands to take you along.

Despite the band's loss of guitarist Jason Isbell, for example, the Truckers still bring to the stage the wild three-guitar attack they're known for. The full-time addition of the multi-instrumental Jon Neff, who moves easily between pedal steel and guitar, was clearly a wise choice. And the night's greatest instrumental moments occurred wen Neff's and Hood's solos overlapped, with Hood playing gloriously sloppy lead lines that gave easily away to Neff's more exacting, clean sound in "Lookout Mountain" and "Three Dimes Down."

With "Brighter Than Creation's Dark," the Drive-by Truckers have solidly made the transition they needed to make after Isbell's departure. If we're lucky enough to have them head back to Salt Lake, it would serve The Drive-by Truckers well to drive right by the Palladium and find a better venue in which to demonstrate just how fine a band they really are.