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Tour Dates
12/27/13 – Antone’s – Austin, TX
12/28/13 – Antone’s – Austin, TX 12/31/13 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX Read More
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Dallas’ the Old 97s kindly stopped by the Fine Line Tuesday night to help folks shake off the early work-week blues and get people pumped for the release of their new album (which should be out soon!).
Minneapolis-bred, Portland-based Ryan Traster took to the stage first. The singer-songwriter had an excellent band with him and they played a twenty minute or so set of easy-going folk rock. The atmosphere on stage seemed relaxed (the backup singer and bassist were grooving around the stage and the lead guitarist was tearing it up on the other end) but Traster seemed bored and annoyed. In between songs, he asked the sparse crowd to “buy some sh*t” so he can get back to Portland. Later, however, Traster made a crack favoring Minneapolis, likening the city to the color red and calling Portland gray.
The band to follow, Milwaukee’s young, but accomplished Trapper Schoepp and the Shades, would turn the Fine Line completely on its head. Now, dear readers, I have been seriously blessed with some truly excellent opening acts these last few shows: I saw Sons of Hippies pummel, Strange Names seduce and had the pleasure of seeing Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss charm the pants off the good folks awaiting Mark Lanegan in Chicago. Trapper Schoepp and his outfit of rock and roll wild ones were no exception. In fact, they are probably my favorite live acts this year. Bands like this serve as a gentle reminder as to why I go to shows so early: to get a good spot (near the stage, of course) and, hopefully, to make a new discovery. I admit, when the band hit the stage, I was immediately taken with the Schoepp brothers’ (Tanner plays bass) luxurious locks. I made the Harry Styles association (sorry fellas) but it was trivial, short lived detail; Trapper plunged his guitar pick deep into those silver strings and the Shades’ free-wheeling, raucous performance began. Their sound has an instantly likeable Tom Petty jangle, with lots of swaggering blues-rock à la Faces or modern bar band predecessors Marah and a heavy dose of crunchy 70’s power pop. Trapper has played the Twin Cities frequently solo and with the Shades - his next gig is scheduled with Austin Lucas at the Nether Bar in Mill City Nights December 1st and I highly recommend checking him out.
If the Shades brought the crowd to an enthusiastic boil, then the Old 97s turned the place into an outright volcano of excitement. Bassist Murry Hammond strode out on stage, followed by drummer Philip Peeples sporting a fantastic ‘stache, singer/guitarist and dreamboat extraordinaire Rhett Miller and lead shredder Ken Bethea and they launched into a breathless two-hour set starting with the sing-along classic “Barrier Reef” from the band’s 1997 offering Too Far to Care. The Old 97s have acquired quite a following in their 20-year career and you couldn’t ask for a better audience; the energy off stage was just as potent as the energy on stage. Grown men and women were giggling like schoolchildren, grins plastered on their faces and all eyes adoringly on one of the greatest live bands ever. Miller mentioned several times how much he loved the Twin Cities (he was in St. Paul last month for Wits) - so much that, half way through the set, they unveiled a new song Miller jokingly called “high art.” It’s title? “Let’s Get Drunk And Get it On.” Another toast to the Cities came in the form of a reworked Bob Dylan song; Miller rewrote “Desolation Row” with new lyrics and called it “Champaign, IL,” to Dylan’s approval.
The setlist touched on each era of the band’s catalogue: newer barn-burners like The Grand Theatre’s “I’m a Trainwreck” and “Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)” next to with classic cuts from the band’s early outings like “Doreen” (that featured insane guitar work from Bethea) “Four Leaf Clover,” and “Big Brown Eyes.” My favorite records, 1999’s Fight Songs and 2001’s Satellite Rides, were generously represented: the bruising “Lonely Holiday,” a Hammond-fronted stomper “Can’t Get a Line” and a louder, full-band treatment on the acoustic ballad “Question.” They even honored a fan request, the jangle-pop gem “Rollerskate Skinny” which saw Miller really working his trademark hip-sway/guitar strum; a seductive move that elicited squeals of delight from the females in the front row.
The phenomenal encore saw guitarist Bethea bringing the goods. While Miller howled about a cheating lover on “Salome,” Bethea stalked the stage and strummed those melancholy surf-influenced chords in his yellow “Chick Magnet” t-shirt. Another great Fight Songs’ cut “Nineteen” followed, but when Too Far to Care’s “Timebomb” finally dropped, the venue went ballistic. Bethea perched on one of the monitors at the lip of the stage and yanked out the song’s memorable psychobilly intro. Folks were jumping, yelling and dancing while Peeples’ walloping drums rattled the walls and Hammond and Miller joined Bethea at the edge of the stage, showering everyone with their sweat, spit and spirit.
Minneapolis-bred, Portland-based Ryan Traster took to the stage first. The singer-songwriter had an excellent band with him and they played a twenty minute or so set of easy-going folk rock. The atmosphere on stage seemed relaxed (the backup singer and bassist were grooving around the stage and the lead guitarist was tearing it up on the other end) but Traster seemed bored and annoyed. In between songs, he asked the sparse crowd to “buy some sh*t” so he can get back to Portland. Later, however, Traster made a crack favoring Minneapolis, likening the city to the color red and calling Portland gray.
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TRAPPER SCHOEPP
photo by Kristin Miller
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If the Shades brought the crowd to an enthusiastic boil, then the Old 97s turned the place into an outright volcano of excitement. Bassist Murry Hammond strode out on stage, followed by drummer Philip Peeples sporting a fantastic ‘stache, singer/guitarist and dreamboat extraordinaire Rhett Miller and lead shredder Ken Bethea and they launched into a breathless two-hour set starting with the sing-along classic “Barrier Reef” from the band’s 1997 offering Too Far to Care. The Old 97s have acquired quite a following in their 20-year career and you couldn’t ask for a better audience; the energy off stage was just as potent as the energy on stage. Grown men and women were giggling like schoolchildren, grins plastered on their faces and all eyes adoringly on one of the greatest live bands ever. Miller mentioned several times how much he loved the Twin Cities (he was in St. Paul last month for Wits) - so much that, half way through the set, they unveiled a new song Miller jokingly called “high art.” It’s title? “Let’s Get Drunk And Get it On.” Another toast to the Cities came in the form of a reworked Bob Dylan song; Miller rewrote “Desolation Row” with new lyrics and called it “Champaign, IL,” to Dylan’s approval.
The setlist touched on each era of the band’s catalogue: newer barn-burners like The Grand Theatre’s “I’m a Trainwreck” and “Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)” next to with classic cuts from the band’s early outings like “Doreen” (that featured insane guitar work from Bethea) “Four Leaf Clover,” and “Big Brown Eyes.” My favorite records, 1999’s Fight Songs and 2001’s Satellite Rides, were generously represented: the bruising “Lonely Holiday,” a Hammond-fronted stomper “Can’t Get a Line” and a louder, full-band treatment on the acoustic ballad “Question.” They even honored a fan request, the jangle-pop gem “Rollerskate Skinny” which saw Miller really working his trademark hip-sway/guitar strum; a seductive move that elicited squeals of delight from the females in the front row.
Miller is a fantastic and passionate vocalist
Now, bass player Murry Hammond is a tall, lean gentleman with salt and pepper hair and round Lennon-esque eye glasses and he plays his bass so fast and so precisely, you are likely to lose your mind watching him. When he’s not singing, he’s standing with his legs apart, Pete Townsend-style power stance, then he smoothly glides from upstage and downstage and up again, almost like he’s doing a two-step with his bass. Sometimes he’ll hold his bass up like it’s a rifle and playfully shoot the notes in the audience. Miller is a fantastic and passionate vocalist, but I love Hammond-led tunes like “West TX Teardrops” and “Iron Road,” a song he penned during the band’s session with the legendary outlaw himself, Waylon Jennings. And when Miller and Hammond sing together… well, those are harmonies that will lift your heart into your throat and then throb to the bottom of your feet.
The phenomenal encore saw guitarist Bethea bringing the goods. While Miller howled about a cheating lover on “Salome,” Bethea stalked the stage and strummed those melancholy surf-influenced chords in his yellow “Chick Magnet” t-shirt. Another great Fight Songs’ cut “Nineteen” followed, but when Too Far to Care’s “Timebomb” finally dropped, the venue went ballistic. Bethea perched on one of the monitors at the lip of the stage and yanked out the song’s memorable psychobilly intro. Folks were jumping, yelling and dancing while Peeples’ walloping drums rattled the walls and Hammond and Miller joined Bethea at the edge of the stage, showering everyone with their sweat, spit and spirit.
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The Old 97s at the Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (11/12/13) photo by Kristin Miller
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