Old 97's
Satellite Rides
On Sale Now
For $12.98

Washington, DC:

What a difference a year makes. In February, 2000, Old 97’s played to a half-full 9:30 Club. This time the place was packed with boisterous fans. The band abandoned trying to talk to the audience fairly early on because they couldn’t compete with the shouted requests and cheers. One woman next to me kept yelling the name of the high school she and 97’s singer Rhett Miller both attended. It didn’t matter that there was no way he could hear her. She continued to blow the eardrums of those around her.

But I suppose it says a lot about the band that they inspire that kind of enthusiasm. It also says a lot about the quality of their latest album, Satellite Rides, which is still the year’s best combination of alt-country twang and power pop charm.

Miller was showing no signs of vocal problems as the band took the stage. The band had been forced to cancel a recent show in New Jersey because his voice was completely gone. Worse yet they had missed getting a chance to play for The Boss. Springsteen himself was on his way to the venue that night when he learned the show had been cancelled. Bruce was a no-show for the 9:30 Club concert as well but at times it felt like he was the only 97’s fan in a 500- mile radius who wasn’t there.

A muddy sound mix left the band sounding disjointed early on, especially when compared with the crisp, tight set they’d performed back in the spring at the Iota club in Arlington, Virginia. That was too bad too because the band opened with three strong tunes including Satellite Rides’ "Rollerskate Skinny" with Miller’s cry of "I believe in love but it don’t believe in me." "Streets of Where I’m From" followed from 1997’s Too Far to Care and then the insanely catchy "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" from the band’s 1999 release Fight Songs.

Bassist Murry Hammond took the mic for one of five vocal showcases on the spaghetti western-influenced "Up the Devil’s Pay." Note to band: next time Miller is coughing up a lung, you might consider a Hammond showcase. Normally providing the perfect harmonies behind Miller, Hammond looks, plays and sings like he’s auditioning for the Dave Clark Five reunion tour. His other Satellite Rides contribution, "Can’t Get A Line" (which they also played later in the set), shows he can write pop songs with the best of ‘em. And he’s acquired quite a following of his own as well.

After a few songs the band finally hit their stride and the sound problems worked themselves out. Miller’s tale of laid-off autoworkers on the make, "Buick City Complex," seemed to get things back on track. With guitarist Ken Bethea providing his unique tightly-coiled lead guitar work and drummer Philip Peeples supplying the rough around the edges, Keith Moon-like drum fills, the 97’s took charge.

Song-wise the 97’s have a strong set these days, incorporating not only the best of Satellite Rides but also a core of songs from Too Far to Care that always kicks the show up a notch. Set closing versions of "Barrier Reef" and "Four Leaf Clover" were particular highlights. And encore romps through "Big Brown Eyes" and "Timebomb" fired up the crowd. Satellite Rides tunes "Bird In A Cage" and "Book of Poems" will also likely be 97’s live staples for years to come. But the encore wasn’t entirely about heavy-hitting rockers. It also included Miller’s solo acoustic version of "Question" and Hammond’s take on the Merle Haggard classic "Mama Tried."

As the band’s hour and forty minute show came to a close, I couldn’t help thinking The Boss missed a good one.

Openers the Josh Joplin Group had a few of their own supporters in the crowd, perhaps owing to Joplin’s connections to the Washington, DC area. Joplin wore his influences on his sleeve on cuts from his record Useful Music. He paid tribute to the DC hardcore bands he listened to in his youth as well as late protest singer Phil Ochs, on the same song no less. Joplin bears a vocal resemblance to REM’s Michael Stipe on the cinematic minor hit "Camera One." He did a good job of commanding attention and kicking energy into the set with a few well-timed leaps and some hand gestures to punctuate his observant lyrics. The band has a harder edge live than they do on the polished, more acoustic-based album which was produced by the likes of singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins and ex-Talking Head Jerry Harrison.

Copyright © 2008 ModernRock.com All Rights Reserved