EEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!!
Yes, obnoxious fangirlie screams and all that goes with it. Poor Geo. He suffers my obsession with quiet dignity. And booze. Or he should anyway. Say a prayer for him, and for my newer friends who have finally witnessed my full-on crazy love zone for this band. I hope I have't frightened them to the point of giving me a wide berth.
Anywho, for this go-round my Missouri bud, Leslie flew out for the Pittsburgh/Cleveland dates. Leslie has been here before, but not in the warmer climes. The weather was gorgeous. The only exception being the evening rain of the Pittsburgh show. Even that was a welcomed relief after a sweaty concert of dancing and scream-singing.
When she arrived, we dropped off her luggage and headed to town for lunch, the Warhol Museum and a walk on the picturesque North Shore. It was perfect. Even the sprinkling of raindrops conveniently coincided with Happy Hour.
Kismet.
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| lunch on the patio of Marty's Market |
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| north shore selfie |
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| warhol pillows shot on the sly shhhhhh... |
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| one gorgeous-ass day |
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| resting in the lap of a excessively creepy Fred Rodgers his face will haunt you in your dreams |
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| encountering the baby goslings or as i call them, the Shitters |
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| these babies have no fear |
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| photo from above image |
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| "Hey, hey we're the Shitters…" |
Jumping ahead, Cleveland was surprisingly lovely! And much bigger than I imagined. Being a Burgher, we have instilled in us a life-long hatred for all things Cleveland. As local-comedian-made-big (no pun intended, you know, because of his ample stature), Billy Gardel says, "We hate them for spite!" It's futile to try to rationalize the reciprocal loathing. It's just easier to accept it and realize the animosity will live on in perpetuity, not unlike the Arab/Israeli conflict. It just.. is.
But I digress…
We stayed across from Progressive Field, home of the Indians baseball club in a decidedly cleaned up area near Playhouse Square, trendy eateries and the scenic Lake Shore area featuring the Browns stadium (BOO, infinity! See, there's that crazy hatred again), the Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Noreen joined us and played tour guide for the afternoon.
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| at our hotel |
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| waiting for grub at the house of blues |
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| you knew this had to happen somewhere along the way |
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| my love for big ass stuff continues |
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| FREEdom… revoked |
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| 412 representin' in the 216 |
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| we played a little Old 97's game finding references to their songs on our travels these guys are all over Cleveland (4 Leaf Clover) |
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| "do you want to meet up at the Pickwick Bowl…" okay, it's really PickWOOD Bowl, but close enough shut up. our game. our rules |
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| TRIFECTA!! this fan was all-too happy to oblige |
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| war memorial |
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| detail of the war memorial |
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| public ahrt selfie avec buttocks |
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| rock and roll hall of fame on the lake |
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| science center, windmill and asshat stadium |
But enough of the sights, let's get to the raison d'être… the concerts.
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| mike sauter taking on the interview duties (love the vibrant sneakers) many thanks to Gary D for the professional photos |
My friend, Abby is the GM for our public radio station, WYEP. She used to work in Texas and has known the Old 97's for a long time. She was instrumental in getting them to do an in-studio for members only the morning of the show at Mr. Small's. That meant they would have to bust ass from New York City to make it on time. New York shows are always big events with lots of notable people in the audience and I suspect gatherings backstage that run late into the night. Both Murry and Rhett were visibly tired from the journey, but you couldn't tell it from the interview. They were their ever-charming selves, telling anecdotes, sharing backstory and singing songs as if they weren't dead on their feet. God bless their exhausted hearts.
There was one tense moment after he broke a string during the first song, Longer Than You've Been Alive in which neither Rhett nor tour manager, Mike Dalke could find a comparable string in their packs to replace it. But being the consummate professional, Rhett soldiered on and continued with the interview and performance in glorious fashion. Honestly, you couldn't tell anything was missing. It sounded fantastic in the back where we were dancing and singing. He even joked about his five-string guitar towards the end of the interview.
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| can you spot the missing string |
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| an unguarded moment so cute |
You can listen to the entire interview here.
And then they were sweet enough to take the time to do this.
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| GREATEST. SELFIE. EVER. *sigh* |
We left before we overstayed our welcome, which I have a bad habit of doing. On the way to the car, we ran into the guitarist, Ken in big ole shorts and cap, toting a mesh bag of clean laundry looking rather pedestrian and not at all like the rock and roller he is. After a coffee run, a couple hilarious tour tales and a trip to the magic shop for a book on card tricks (seriously. who knew.), we drove him back to the venue. I swear to the Baby Jesus there was a point in the journey where he thought we were taking him to a dark alley or something equally untoward.
So, let's recap the amazing people who have sat in my little red Vibe(ator):
Francis Dunnery
YA author extraordinaire, John Green
Murry Hammond
Ken Bethea
Now if Rhett, Philip Peebles, Wesley Stace or OHMIEFFINGGOD PAUL RUDD ever took a spin in Rita, I would never EVER be able to sell it. I should start a Tumblr: Famous Asses Who've Been Inside Rita. No doubt the Pornbots would be all over that bad boy.
Meanwhile, back at the concert…
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| guitar fight during can't get a line |
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| it's become an unspoken competition among fans to capture rhett's rock jumps during Time Bomb Leslie succeeded nicely |
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| until tomorrow... |
Mr. Small's was packed with fans and soon-to-be fans revved to hear the new album live. There definitely was a palatable hum of excitement. Okay, maybe that was just our camp of devotees, but I doubt it. They started that 97's engine rolling with If My Heart Was a Car, a song usually reserved for the set closer, delivered at full-throtle.
(this is the opener from the Cleveland show, but same intensity…different night)
Holy HELL!! What a way to open a show!
And it just went feverishly on from there, particularly in Cleveland, which I'm a little bitter about. (Please refer to the aforementioned utter hatred. At least I was there to witness the awesome.) The setlist for both evenings was sprinkled with some quieter moments like Busted Afternoon, Bird in a Cage and of course Question, providing a needed breather. I mean, c'mon. Even a super human needs to catch his breath for a minute or three.
These back-to-back shows were two of the best I've seen. This new album and it's honest take on life, longing and lingering regret wrapped in a balls-to-the-wall sound has reinvigorated them and given them a license to cut the fuck loose! I have never seen a mediocre show from them EVER, but on this tour they are the very definition of hard-charging. They're performing at an astronomically higher level. They're like freaking 20 somethings up there only with better clothes, better gear and a better sense of self.
And ohmygodjesus are these new songs fun to sing!! They're fuckin' cathartic! They have tapped into my love of the f-bomb in a big way. The energy is incredible.
In Pittsburgh, we were treated to The Disconnect (so excited this made the list. love this one on so many levels, but it makes me want to hug his head), Guadalajara (best opening line in a song, a great story and ridiculously catchy), Most Messed Up (talk about f-bomb therapy) and punky Clash cover, Career Opportunities.
(via my friend, Noreen)
PS: her skirt made me more than a little nervous.
Of the new songs, Nashville (which continues to win me over with its cow punk rhythm) was outstanding! This is the Ballad had a discernible punch-in-the-gut feel. Give it Time (another highlight) was charging both nights. One of the many tunes on constant repeat in both Geo's and my car, Wheels Off was uber fun to sing, even if it had to be a bit restrained in order to tape it for Geo. But the biggest surprise was Intervention right out of the encore gate. If you listen closely, you can hear Leslie and me scream, "Fuck y'all! HELL NOOOOO!"
"Somebody kick him in sack just to stop his bitchin'!" remains the crowned king for funniest lyric penned.
They're still working out the outro, but I have every confidence it will kick ass in July when Tommy Stinson joins them for the beach shows. What has two thumbs and is going to Dewey Beach to see her heroes… This girl!!
Usually I dread the first chords of Time Bomb because I'm never ready for the 97's train to pull into the station (are you sick of train metaphors yet), but this time I was completely sated. The perfect topper to this two-day musical sundae was getting a chance to visit with each of these fabulous Texas men afterwards, including the infrequently sighted Sasquatch of the 97's, Philip, to tell them how much their talents save my soul. I kid with people and tell them Old 97's concerts are my church, but therein lies a truth. The world becomes much lighter after their particular brand of sermon is over.
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| graffiti covered backstage wall in Cleveland |
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| rhett really needs to stop phoning it in i swear one day he's going to burst that vein in his neck |
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| i've got issues... YEAH!!! |
Pittsburgh
WUZZA
Streets of Where I'm From
Dance With Me
Longer
Busted Afternoon
Ex of All You See
Bird in a Cage
Niteclub
The Disconnect
Iron Road
Nashville
Every Night Is Friday Night
Question
Up the Devil's Pay
Give it Time
Barrier Reef
Guadalajara
Roller Skate Skinny
Can't Get a Line
Big Brown Eyes
Let's Get Drunk and Get it On
Doreen
4 Leaf Clover (with Lydia Loveless)
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Most Messed Up
Career Opportunities
Time Bomb
Cleveland
WUZZA
Streets
Dance With Me
Longer
19
Ex of All You See
Victoria
Niteclub
This is the Ballad
Iron Road
Nashville
Every Night is Friday Night
Question
W. Texas Teardrops
Wheels Off
Barrier Reef
Give it Time
New Kid (for Norah)
Can't Get a Line
Big Brown Eyes
Let's Get Drunk
Doreen
4 Leaf (w/Lydia)
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Intervention
Murder or a Heart Attack
Time Bomb
Additional Side Note: An 8 y-o named Norah was at the Cleveland show. She had sung New Kid for her Rock School. Rhett dedicated the song to her. It was really sweet. She was singing along, he was singing to her. But, seriously, why. WHY would you bring your child knowing the evening will be expletive heavy. This is NOT your child's tour, people!!
Additional Side Note 2: We could not look at Lydia Loveless' bass player with out thinking Will Farrell. Go ahead. Try not to think of Will Farrell.
