Michael Tomberlin
July 23, 2008
Murry Hammond and Rhett MillerFive of five stars
Despite two opening acts and a late start for a show on a school night,
Old 97's showed why they were the headliners Monday.
The Texas twang-pop-rock quartet ripped through old fan favorites of their
15-year catalog while relying heavily on new songs from their latest album, Blame It On Gravity, many of which are sure to become mainstays at future Old
97's shows.
Chief among them is "Early Morning," a pounding standout on the album was
turned into a highlight on stage, with normally mild-mannered drummer Philip
Peeples unleashing on his kit like a mad man and lead guitarist Ken Bethea
squeezing out a hurricane of sound from his electric guitar.
Ken Bethea
Bethea's playing throughout Monday's show
and on Blame It On Gravity have earned him a greater share of the spotlight
than he previously has held.
Still, center stage continues to belong to Rhett Miller, lead singer and
writer of the bulk of Old 97's songs. Miller worked through microphone problems
early in the show, keeping the crowd engaged with his energy and gyrations.
Miller circulated among his bandmates, windmilled his guitar and ended in
sweat in the climate-controlled venue.
The counter to Miller's youthful frenzy is Murry Hammond's mature stability.
The bass player and sometimes lead singer offered up the set's most beautiful
moment by moaning "Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue," one of two tunes he penned
on the new album.
Rhett Miller
But Hammond is no stick-in-the-mud. He
blistered through Old 97's classics "Crash On the Barrelhead" and "Smokers" and
his harmonies gave heft to Miller's singing throughout the show.
The band's years of experience stood in stark contrast to solid, pleasant
performances by the two opening acts, the Spring Standards and Sleepercar.
When the Old 97's took the stage, the venue kicked into a new gear and was
held there by a band that knows its place on the stage and in the world.
It's being in a band, this band, that keeps Old 97's tethered to the ground.
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