It's time once more for a concert review on this here blog. This time, it's Old 97's (a favorite band of mine for many years now), seeing them for the second time ever, the last time being in 2014 at the same venue, the Crescent Ballroom, a 525-capacity bar in downtown Phoenix. This was my 4th time total seeing a show at the Crescent, and it's truly one of the best small venues in this whole metro area. Pretty much my only complaint is the prices for booze at the place; I paid $16 for a rum and Mexican Coke, one of the simplest cocktails to make. But that's how bars make their money.
As for the show itself, there was one opening act, nonbinary alt-country musician River Shook. They were quite alright and did have a song that was pretty memorable entitled "The Nail", about a person they were dating one time. River was done with their set in about 25 minutes or so and did get some cheers from the audience.
Sometime after 8 PM, the Old 97's took the stage and rocked right through 21 songs in what felt like was no time at all. This is how you know the show was great; it leaves you wanting more and more. They began their set with a couple older songs that they did not play in 2014, "Jagged", and a fast rocker called "Melt Show". A lot of songs they played were not done in 2014, thankfully. Having close to the same setlist 12 years later would've been disappointing. A deep cut from their 2nd album Wreck Your Life entitled "The Other Shoe" was played in both shows, presumably because Phoenix is mentioned in the song's chorus. Not complaining, though, it's a great song.
The band brought River Shook back out for a mid-set rendition of 2017's "Good With God", in which River on this night provided the singing voice of God (the honors on the album version went to another openly queer singer, Brandi Carlile). The 97s' bassist and sometimes lead vocalist, Murry Hammond, got 3 turns in the spotlight on this night, including a soulful rendition of what I think is his best song, "Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue", from 2008's Blame It on Gravity. It was really nice to finally hear that one live.
Speaking of lead vocalists, Rhett Miller has got to be one of the most animated frontmen in rock music. He jumps around on stage a lot, he shakes his ass sometimes, and also has this physical stim he does when he's playing guitar. He is just downright amazing.
I sadly did not get a physical copy of the setlist, despite being literally front and center, because people got greedy and grabbed them from the stage before the last song was even over with. Super disappointing. Thankfully, I took a picture of it before the band took the stage, so I present the full setlist right here:
