Back home, did you ever sit down and have a talk with that uncle who thinks there hasn't been a good album made since 1978?

Ever listen to mainstream radio for a couple of hours and think he might be on to something?

If so, maybe tonight's North Mississippi Allstars show at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., is worth your money (and may change your mind, for a reasonable price, too). Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, which opens at 8 — the band kicks it off at 9:30.

"We don't sound like a modern rock band, not MTV-type stuff," lead singer and guitarist Luther Dickinson said. "We have our own little sound. I think we're blessed people like what we do."

Together since 1996, the band, which is comprised of Dickinson, drummer and brother Cody Dickinson and bass player Chris Chew, has roots steeped deep in the blues, having worked with such legends as Otha Turner, R.L. Burnside and T Model Ford. Their first album, 2000's Shake Hands with Shorty, was a collection of reworked blues standards hailed by critics.

By the time the Allstars returned to the studio to cut their second record, Phantom 51, the band decided it was time to start laying down their own tunes. Blending new songs with ones that have been kicking around for a while, a sound based more in rock began to emerge.

Dickinson gives much credit to his father Jim Dickinson's production of the album that has drawn comparisons to fellow southerners The Allman Brothers and ZZ Top.

The other main influence, Dickinson said, was the road, something the trio experienced greatly after Shake Hands with Shorty was released, touring the United States and Europe incessantly while playing with bands such as the Foo Fighters, Primal Scream and Rage Against the Machine.

"The first record was a homey kind of record," Dickinson said. "The second one is a road record."

If the road does play a major influence in the group, further evolution can be expected. Besides working nonstop on their own projects, the Allstars recorded an album with John Medeski and Robert Randolph released as The Word last summer. Before embarking on this tour, Luther and Cody both toured with Widespread Panic keyboardist John Hermann.

"We're already working on the next record, we just have this sense of urgency right now," Dickinson said. "Plus, we're at the point now where if we stop working we go broke immediately."

All those shows have taught the band one thing — to have a good time onstage. Dickinson said the band isn't overly introspective or heavy.

"We usually rock out for about two hours straight," Dickinson said. "The girls like to dance and the guys like to watch, and everybody gets pretty intoxicated."