The Show

Okay--I'm finally posting the long awaited review about the highly anticipated Old 97's show from over two weeks ago. Please don't take my delay in blogging about the event as evidence that the show wasn't good--it was terrific! I've just been trying to give such an important post the time and effort it deserves--and finding adequate time is definitely a problem lately! Today I finally finished it while I was home sick in bed. It's kind of sad that I'm using sick days to get caught up on my life!

Obviously I was extremely excited about this concert despite the fact that I've seen the 97's live on six previous occasions. In my opinion, one can never see the 97's too many times. As always, they put on an amazingly energetic show. It's hard to believe that these four guys who are all older than I am can still rock out so hard for two solid hours. Never do they slow down! They played a lot of stuff from their latest album, which I'm a big fan of, but that also meant that a lot of my old favorites got bumped from the rotation, which was a bummer. I missed Four Leaf Clover--my favorite song in the world! Is it bad to wish your favorite band ever wouldn't put out another album so that I could hear more of my favorite old songs at their concerts? That's probably not very good logic at all. They did play Niteclub, which is also one of my favorites that I didn't get to hear at their last show I saw in KC.

Another highlight of the show was getting introduced to a new opening band that was really good called The Spring Standards. They were good musicians with great voices and wonderful harmonies. I really enjoyed them live--much more so than in the studio. I bought their CD after the show, along with a new 97's t-shirt, which I put on immediately for our group picture with our favorite Salina family--the Fellers! No 97's show would be complete with out the presence of at least 4 members of the Fellers clan!

There were only a few things that were missing from this show at the Granada. First, although they played a tons of songs off the latest release, they didn't play my two favorites--Here's To The Halcyon and The One (which is actually an old song that had just never been released on a real album). I didn't get to see them live, but thanks to YouTube you can watch them here and here!

Okay, back to the Lawrence show. The second thing that was missing from the Granada was a big crowd. The crowd was not totally embarrassing, but the place was certainly not packed. We've seen them fill much bigger venues, so I just felt really bad for the band that the place wasn't bursting at the seams! I think part of the lameness of the crowd was due to the fact that KU wasn't in session that Thursday night or Friday, although I really don't know how much college kids listen to the 97's these days. I know it being a weeknight didn't help the adult crowd get there either. I felt so bad for the band, and I also felt personally responsible that the crowd kind of sucked because I had tried so hard to promote the show! The one good thing about having a mediocre crowd was that it was pretty easy to stand on the floor, super close to the stage. Being able to see the boys rock out close up is one of the best parts of seeing the 97's in the first place!

As a direct result of the crowd being slightly small, I think a lot of the normal witty banter between Rhett and the fans was missing as well. Rhett seemed particularly quiet this show, and I couldn't help but worry that he was secretly a little disappointed in the turnout. His relative silence was probably partially because they are just freakin' tired at this point. They've been on tour for almost a year I think! They've got to be pooped, and yet they still rocked out like there was a packed house and their tour had just started! I love it that they always give 100% and never phone in a show! I'm already trying to convince Chad that we should drive down to Dallas and see them again on December 30th! :)