15 years after their first album Hitchhike to Rhome was released, the Old 97’s made their second stop in Los Angeles to promote their 2008 New West record Blame It On Gravity.
Forgoing the traditional supporting act, 97’s lead singer Rhett Miller and bass player Murry Hammond played separate opening sets to promote their respective solo releases. Rhett just issued his third solo album, playing tracks “Another Girlfriend” and “If It’s Not Love” from that self titled release as well as tracks from his two previous efforts The Instigator and The Believer. Murry just released his first solo album, and played a really cool collection of Gospel and Traditional songs from that record to the overly attentive LA crowd.
After 15 years together, most bands are able to hit the auto pilot switch and cruise through the 90 minute show that a full Music Box Theatre would expect. The Old 97’s however, refuse to rest on their laurels. These guys still take it up a notch and deliver an energetic and fresh show every time I have seen them.
For the 97’s faithful, the set list included oldies like “Old Brown Shoe,” “Four Leaf Clover,” and “Stoned.” To appease the casual fan they included their popular tracks “Rollerskate Skinny” and “Barrier Reef.” During the 4 song encore, even Vince Vaughn was spotted cutting the rug to the 97’s signature track “Time Bomb.”
Keeping a band together and creative for 15 years is no small task, and these guys are as strong as I’ve ever seen them.
