Concert Review:
Saw Rhett Miller (the lead singer of the Old97s) last night (11-20-2002). He kicked ass. Ran through all of his current album (The Instigator) and quite a few Old97s tunes. There's a trend in music right now to make 'radio friendly' cds for bands that are essentially 'live' bands. The most popular example of this I can think of is Counting Crows. Their cds tend to be a bit more 'clean' and layered while their live shows tend to just rip shit up. Well Rhett and the Old97s are no different. His solo cd at times sounds a little too pop-y and radio-ish while in concert he and his 3 bandmates just get up and destroy their instruments playing these pop songs. As for the show itself; I've been dying for years to get an Old97s show and just haven't been able to; so when I had the chance for the next best thing I took it. Tix were $15 and was among the best $15 I could spend on music (although that Puffy Ami Yumi show was right up there!). Rhett is a tall gangly fellow and to see him bop and flail around on stage is quite a site indeed; imagine a combination of Kurt Cobain and Pete Townsend with a dash of 60's soul. Oddly, the music sounds a bit like that as well. I've come to the conclusion that Rhett (even his writing for the 97s) is a natural progression from Buddy Holly (also from Texas). While Rhett's music is a little harder I've got to imagine Mr. Holly would approve. They're both songwriters with a gift for capturing the essence of life and love in a 2:00 minute song.

As for the show itself: throughout the show Rhett played his entire "The Instigator" cd (12 songs) and some Old97s songs from each of their 5 albums taking quite a bit from Fight Songs and Satellite Rides. In the middle of his set the band left the stage and Rhett just played a handful of 97s songs (including TimeBomb, which came off quite well) on his acoustic guitar. If and when he and/or the 97s are back in town; I will DEFINATELY have to check them out again.
---Jeff---