It's tough to say whether Drag the River is either in the midst of a reunion tour or a farewell jaunt. The Colorado-based alt-country act, led by All singer Chad Price and Armchair Martian singer-guitarist Jon Snodgrass, formed more than a decade ago when Price's All bandmates reunited with original vocalist Milo Aukerman for a Descendents reunion album and tour. And that worked out fine—Drag the River maintained a whiskey-soaked heavy regimen that included upward of 200 performances a year—until the group split abruptly in the summer of '07 while on tour with Rocky Votolato.
But there was another problem: The band had an album (You Can't Live This Way, released in January) destined to hit shelves whether the group was active or not. This predicament led to a handful of Colorado shows to promote the disc, which snowballed into a string of dates on the East and West coasts, and now this tour through the South. Whether it's hello or goodbye, remember, this is country-based music—so someone's crying in their beer.
Denton's A.M. Ramblers and Fort Worth's Braker Lane open.