Reliving My Musical Year Circa 2011, Part Two Because I'm Chatty, Yo

JULY

Dear July: I will always and forever have a special place in my heart for thee. 

July was all about the Old 97's. Three incredible shows in four days with the added bonus of post show drinks with Ken and Murry (Baltimore)...



Hanging backstage before and after (Brooklyn)



and one non-stop, laugh-filled day at Brooklyn's famed Coney Island. To say they were the most memorable three days of the summer is not an overstatement, even if I embarrassed the hell out of myself by almost eating the pavement in Baltimore. Call me Grace.

AUGUST

Dude, I went to see The Monkees. Yes, THE Monkees. Okay, well 3/4 of the Monkees anyway. I had no intention of going, but GD if I didn't have a blast. Who knew all those lyrics were still living somewhere deep down in my grey matter.

A steamy August evening featured the Dynamic Duo of Ben Gibbard's Death Cab For Cutie and Scott Hutchinson's Frightened Rabbits on Stage AE's outdoor venue. (for once, two great bands for the price of one) Nestled between a signature skyblast fireworks display (we Burghers go ape shit over incendiary displays) with Train performing at the ball field and an evening shoot of Batman, The Dark Night Returns at Heinz Field, these musical Super Heroes held their own.





Sweaty, happy and hoarse, I walked away victorious clutching the lone FRabbits doodle postcard created especially for the evening.

KAPOW!

SEPTEMBER

Once again, September vacation was bookended (is that even a word?) with our two faves. Geo and I had our charts read by Francis Dunnery at our friend Kate's house in Malvern, PA. It was enlightening and huge fun. Hmmmm... seems I didn't blog about that either. Major slacker this past quarter. Blah. Anyhoo, the following evening we attended a house concert in the biggest home, nay, estate we've ever been in. Whoa! Kate and I were convinced it was haunted. For realz.

After spending a restful week at the Jersey shore, we ended our vacation with a double shot of, who else... Rhett Miller. This time at  World Cafe at the Queen in Wilmington, Deleware followed by a rare matinee show at one of my favorite out-of-town venues, Annapolis' Ram's Head On Stage. In both we were treated to a new song, Picture This from Rhett's upcoming solo CD due out in the Spring. Heather Robb from Spring Standards adds her beautiful voice to this duet.



The Ram's Head show was stupendous, with an eclectic setlist filled with deep cuts, newer gems and one terrific cover. Mr. M kindly fulfilled all of our requests. Couldn't ask for a better way to close out a holiday.

Mixing it up with the youngins.



The final outdoor WYEP freebie of the year was Alex Dezen of the Damnwells backed by Harper Blynn. JesusGoodGodAlmlighty it was ridiculously cold and damp for that time of year! But the music was warming, along with my awkward white-girl, Elaine Benis dancing in the corner.

"Help her! She's having a seizure!"

OCTOBER: You need to step it up this year, slacker.


NOVEMBER

Mary Ann (aka, Betty) and I had back-to-back evenings out starting with Louis CK and his delightfully raunchy, twisted view of life, followed by the legendary Kinks front man, Ray Davies. Don't let his age fool you, he can still kick it up for a senior citizen. Outstanding gig, even if I did get busted while recording Waterloo Sunset. Still was able to sneak this one. Ha! Take that, video recording Nazi!

I got to celebrate Thanksgiving Eve with the charming, elfish Norwegian, Sondre Lerche. He packs a lot of power in that little frame.

DECEMBER

Let the holiday festivities begin!! Raul Malo pulled into town in a big, black tour bus and offered up his Christmas Show to put us all in the spirit of things. There's no escaping that catchy Tejano beat. Don't even try. Just roll with it, baby!



 And just for fun, a half song medley followed by... a POLKA!

And finally, we ended the year as we began, with a Francis house concert to begin vacation and Francis playing his Christmas show at the Tin Angel. Our final musical night cap for 2011. The only thing missing was a Rhett holiday show chaser.

That's 2011 in a nutshell. It was a lovely year that provided a lot of opportunities to enjoy a ton of great music at great venues with great friends. I can't wait to do more of the same this year.

Dear 2012: You have some mighty big shoes to fill. Just saying.

In Which I Relive My 2011 Concert Season
(1 of 2)

Okay, so not to be a braggy SOB, but 2011 was an incredible year in live music for me. Except for dry spells in January and October, I was fortunate enough to have seen a plethora of amazing musical acts every month. Haven't had this kind of run since my twenties.

FEBRUARY

The fun began in February with a Rhett Miller concert at City Winery in NYC for my birthday. It got all Chuckie Cheese in there, when Rhett kindly dedicated a song for each of us birthday girls present that evening. Mine was "Wish the Worst", a major burn on the Steelers competing in the Super Bowl three days later.

Wise Ass. Ha Ha! Here's his unveiling of "Perfume" from the then unreleased Grand Theatre, Vol 2.



As is in our cosmic charting, our other musical love, Francis Dunnery played a house concert in NJ the next evening. Again, blessed with the one-two punch of our faves playing in the same weekend. It's uncanny how often this has happened over the last couple years.

February brought another Francis house concert a short drive north of our own city, as well as the uber talented trio, Spring Standards to Club Cafe. These three of some of the loveliest artists we've ever met. They each play multiple instruments, often at the same time. Heather literally has the voice of an angel. I know, GAG. That cliche just got caught in your throat. They're up and coming and you should seek them out.




MARCH

We went South of the Border with a Raul Malo and his unmistakable Tejano groove. You have to be deceased not to want to get up and shake your tail feathers at this party. Do not resist the power of the accordion.



In direct contrast was Canada's mild-mannered, anti-rockstar, adorably pudgy crooner, Ron Sexsmith.




APRIL

Aaaah, April. What a stellar month! First up--a double shot of my favorite foursome, Coldplay.

I'm just dicking with y'all. Of course it was Old 97's! Steph and I saw them twice in four days, in Rochester, NY and DC. We were treated with two of the most incredible shows. These guys never disappoint or call it in. They. Are. Awesome! But of course, I'm a little biased. Still, I will never understand why they aren't higher up on the musical food chain.



They get two videos because it's my blog, dammit.




The Decemberists made yet another stop through the Burgh in April. It was... peculiar. Not unpleasant, but peculiar. I may have to give them another go when they come back around. One of the highlights for me was lead singer, Colin Meloy's jaunt through the audience (video on blog post).



And then there was Guster. Hands down the happiest eco-friendly pop band on the circuit. Their shows are upbeat, comical and always feature the oddest of oddball covers. They clearly have a ball on stage. Not only will Ryan dance about ungracefully with a disco ball reflective cloth on his head, he'll catch audience-tossed ping pong balls in his mouth. You cannot have a bad time at their shows. They love playing Pittsburgh and we love having them.



What the Hell. They're worth two videos.





MAY

Mike Doughty and his buddy, Scrap stop by Club Cafe often. Geo and I jump at the chance to spend an evening listening to the deeply resonant vocals of the thick, black-rimmed bespectacled, heavily tattooed hipster, Mr. Soul Coughing Cool. Go for the soul, stay for the magnificent calling out of club talkers.




Baby's first concert under the stars at our new venue was an evening with The Avett Brothers and Nicole Atkins. We only caught part of her act thanks to the looooong security line. She sounded pretty good from where we were waiting, but The Avett Brothers... Holy Crap! They hit the stage and didn't stop until they played the mellower I and Love and You. The cellist, Joe Kwon was a crazy man jumping up and down, whipping his two foot long locks next to the big bass while the masses sang all the choruses. F.U.N.





JUNE

Crikey! June was a cornucopia of concert goodness.

First up, another annual favorite, the Irish lads of Bell X1. They alternate between a three-man acoustic and the full band tours. This time around featured the entire band. Their evenings are ethereal and hypnotic. And Dude, the lead singer totally looks like Michael Cera.



In the "Holy Shit are you kidding me?" category is the legendary Tom Tom Club who played for FREE at the Arts Festival. Them oldsters can cook. It was way more fun than I expected. I don't know why I was surprised. Beautiful sunny day + catchy 80s dance fare + the return of hoola-hoop girl = a very festive evening. For free. FREEEEEEEEE!!




Another great freebie over the summer was Josh Ritter and David Wax Museum. Josh Ritter is one of those talents whose name I readily recognized, but his music, not so much. Now I'm happily familiar with both. It was a great afternoon/evening which I seem to have neglected to share on this rambling open book of my narcissism. Weird. I was fortunate to shoot an interview with both Ritter and DWM prior to the show. They were all extremely nice and generous with their time. As is usually the case, the best conversations happened while the cameras were off.





Josh is seriously one of the nicest people I have met in the music world. He never stops smiling, on or off stage.


Homegrown fest was another freebie held at one of our county parks and featured four local bands, Meeting of Important People and LoveBettie being the top billings. Again, I had the opportunity to commando shoot the interviews, including this jovial 10 questions with the delightful LoveBettie. Her hair is the Eighth Wonder of the World. No shit.




Continuing on in the freebie of the month club, our kick-ass public station, WYEP hosted their annual summer concert in Schenly Plaza featuring Jukebox the Ghost, Fitz and the Tantrums and Eli "Paper Boy" Reed. Reed was the headliner, but Fitz blew him clean out of the water. So much so, I felt kinda bad for ole Eli when the crowd literally disappeared after just one of his songs. Fitz is da bomb. Seriously. Go see them. Here's their show stopper, Money Grabber.


Poor Eli.

You know, some days are just way better than others. June 29th was one of those days. That's the day Michael Franti strolled into our studios, sat on our humble set and performed two songs for us. He could not have been any nicer, even if he hadn't just lit spliff. Ha Ha! His shows are a non-stop party of positive energy. Everyone leaves with a bounce in their step and ear to ear grin.



Hey, Hey, Hey No matter how life is today... don't let another moment slip away.



Thus ends the first half of the year. For continued braggadocio

Hartwood Acres Freebie

or the end of the line for my Old 97's/Rhett Fest 09 :(

Okay, so Sunday was the last stop on my Festival Train of Obsession. The Old 97's played a freebie (gotz to love the freebies!!) at the beautiful concert site at Hartwood Acres north of Pittsburgh. 

(OMG!! Look at that face!!!! Sorry. Moving on.)

I had arranged to meet up with my steel drum buddy/Old 97's virgin Sheila and her hubby shortly before the show. I got there earlier, natch (obsessive/compulsive behavior will do that) and staked out a claim in the front. 

The chippie in charge just announced they were going to start the gig early when first came one 50-cent-piece-sized drop of rain...then another...then the sky split in two releasing the most powerful storm I have ever been caught in. Seriously. It was like the flood gates of Hell were unleashed on us unsuspecting heathens. I mean, Dude, it was of biblical proportion. No lie. The man-sized drops were pounding sideways instantly flooding the concreted dance area, not to mention my NEW SHOES!!?! 

Letter to God:

Dear Sir: 

Don't be messing with a girl's new shoes. That ain't right. Oh, and thank you for the rainbow afterwards. 

Sincerely, 

Murray

Anywho, I had my slicker on, but my blue jean capris were soaked through in minutes. I swear the weight of said rain stretched them an inch longer than when I dawned them hours earlier. This assault by nature went on for roughly 20 minutes.

During my desperate search for cover, I met a recent college grad/Olds enthusiast named Annie. She had driven for 3-1/2 hours from deep in West Virginia by herself to see the show...and apparently to get completely waterlogged. We ended up adopting her for the evening. Sheila and Tim finally made it down to the stage--dry, with some much needed wine in hand. 

It turned out to be a beautiful night.

With a packed crowd. 

The band was very impressed with our fortitude. Come on. We're Burghers. We're already out. What's a little flood waters amongst friends.

Rhett and the boys opened with the rocking "Won't Be Home" and kept the energy level at 11 for the rest of the evening. They even played "W. Texas Teardrops", a delightful little number that just makes you want to two-step around the dance floor. During the encore break, Rhett came out and played a new tune "Like Love" and perennial favorite "Come Around" before introducing the band back for the last four songs. 

He gave this young lad the thrill of his little life by personally handing him his set list in the middle of the encore set. Look at his little face. He was floating!

It was a great concert. The crowd was loud and appreciative, the wine was flowing, Annie and I were singing and dancing. And as always, it was waaaaay too short. I love "Time Bomb" because they play it with such abandon. They sink every last bit of energy left in them into that song. But I HATE hearing Ken's first chord, because it means it's the end of the evening. TB is their signature closer. 

*sigh*

This one was doubly sad for me, for it signified the end of my concert fun run. I  have nothing else lined up... I swear I'm going through withdrawal.

In honor of Billy Mays.. But wait, there's more!

Before the deluge, the lead guitarist, Ken came out to the merchandise table. He has a rep for being kind of the hard-assed, curmudgeon of the group. Geo and I spoke briefly with him at Maxwell's, but he's not always the friendliest. Whatever tension lurks within the Old 97's I'm pretty sure centers around the relationship between Ken and Rhett. I'm betting they're both rather controlling and butt heads regularly. 

This night, however, he was very chatty and approachable. He signed my CD, we gabbed, he shared his title as number one jazz patch in music. Apparently there was a listing in some magazine of the best jazz patches on musicians. Dizzy Gillespie was first, Frank Zappa second, Ken Bethea third. The first two guys are dead, so by his logic...he's number one.

That is a pretty good jazz patch.

Anywho, after the show the guys came out to meet those of us who stuck around. They're really good about taking time to greet their fans. It's one of the things that makes them special.

Finally got to meet the drummer, Philip. He's really sweet and quiet. I think he plays the part of Switzerland in the band. You know, neutral party...doesn't choose sides...just wants everyone to get along. 

Had a lengthy, animated and witty conversation with Murry, the bassist. He remembered me from the beach Thursday, which honestly took me by surprise since I hadn't spoke with him after either show. Perhaps my erratic, drunken dancing caught his eye...or the singing off-key.  We chatted about all sorts of topics; his charity (a habitat for humanity type of charity only the homes are for dirt poor people in Tijuana), the joy of aging (he gave a few pointers to Annie), how Ken, his touring roomie, doesn't flush (HA HA!) and just general crap. It's amazing how easy it is to talk with someone on whom you don't have a major crush. Unlike when I'm around Rhett and turn into brain-damaged, monosyllabic moron girl as stated in the last posting. Anyway, it was a very enjoyable conversation which ended in a hug. You know me. I'm big on hugging. I like to hug. I'm a hugger.

As you can imagine, the sweet young ladies were swarming all over Rhett, so I had to wait to talk with him. No problem. I totally get it. However, he made my little heart jump when he looked my way, smiled and said "Hi, Marie". 

*swoon*

Seriously. I know it is the silliest thing ever, but it makes my day to know he actually recognizes me and knows my name now. And I swear to God he was glancing my way when I was chatting with Murry. Okay, that's my fantasy and I'm sticking with it. 

We yakked for a bit, but by then the younger, nubile girls were circling so I snagged my hug and stepped away. (One of these days I'm going to get a kiss from the blue-eyed lovely, but then I would officially be "creepy older lady". Eeeww...so, no. I'll stick with hugging.) Anywho, he stopped mid-sentence to say goodbye to me when he saw we were leaving. 

*uber sigh* 

That's why I find him so dear. He is the sweetest rock guy on Earth. Seriously. His Momma really did teach him right. 

Okay, so get this. The next morning I open my home email before heading off to work, and there's a "message from Murry Hammond on MySpace". 

What? Really? 

He had written a little note telling me how much he enjoyed our chat, how he wished we had coffee in hand and more time to talk. Ending with "see ya down the road, hopefully sooner than later." Imagine my surprise. He tracked me down on MySpace. That's a first. Now I guess I'm a FOM..Friend of Murry's. Cool.

What a great week!! Three live shows, one in-store solo performance, beach time, multiple meet & greets, numerous hugs, FOM and I got the best live album ever, "Alive and Wired" signed by the entire band. 

Not a bad week at all. I miss them already.

Old 97's/Rhett Fest '09

or my week as a 16 year-old middle-aged groupie

I'm back. Did you miss me? Sure you did, right? Right?

Okay, so I talked about my Rhett Fest week ad nauseum, and now it has finally come and gone. Too quickly, I might add. It started with a road trip to Hoboken last Friday. Geo was gracious enough to accompany me on this leg of my obsession...er, journey.

As luck would have it, the lovely blue-eyed one scheduled an in-store performance in a record store a little south of my sister's. We headed down there...in the teeming rain, only to be totally confused by our Google directions. We kept driving in circles once we reached the town. Panicked, I grabbed my phone and jumped on Navigator. Finally, we found the store. All was right with the world. (Note to self: NEVER use Google for directions. Especially for something as important as a Rhett appearance! Stick with AAA.)

Hanging around the outside of the store waiting for Geo, a sleek, black Sprinter bus pulls up. The door opens and ... ta da! Rhett himself steps out... like four feet away from me.

*swoon*

Because he's a good guy and his Momma taught him well, we chit-chat a bit before he enters the store. Now I'm getting the vapors.

The performance is fairly well attended and goes well. The crowd loved him. He's his usual charming self, belting out around a dozen songs, most of them requests. Here are a few I recorded.

The opener "Like Love" and "If It's Not Love". If you listen closely you can hear Geo shout out the request. I love him... Geo, that is. *Snort* You KNOW how I feel about Rhett.

The hit "I Need To Know Where I Stand" from his new CD aptly named Rhett Miller. Catchy, no?

Performing the oldie, but goodie "Jagged" and another knew tune "Caroline".

Afterwards Rhett did a meet and greet, taking extra time to talk with the half dozen children in attendance. He really digs kids. Another thing that makes him the perfect fantasy husband. Being the freak that I am, I stood in line to have him sign a couple of CDs, take photos, yak, etc. I even snagged a hug from the boy. Color me happy.

Grinning from ear to ear, Geo and I jumped back into the car and headed North for Hoboken. We decided to stay the night since we wouldn't be getting out of Maxwell's until one or two o'clock. I made reservations at the W Hoboken on River Street overlooking lower Manhattan. Uber swanky digs. Okay, there was something just a little odd and unsettling about this hotel. Service is a huge thing with this place. A little too huge. I mean they kept sending us emails asking if there was anything at all they could provide us to make our stay better. Without question. Anything at all.

Anything? Like, what...get a Filipino boy to scrub my back? A Geisha for Geo? It all seemed a little... pimpy, if you know what I mean. This whole "your wish is our command" sentiment was kinda wigging me out. But I have to admit, this was funny. Amongst a tray of items for sale in the room... you know the tray of snacks, t-shirts, whatever ... was this. (click on the photos for a larger view. really, do it. it's worth the read)

Hands down the best condom packaging EVA!

Later Geo and I met up with a woman I've become friends with over the internet, Cindy. 

She's a professor of social media at Texas State and is a big music fan. She was in town on business, and joined us for dinner before the Old 97's show. It was great fun for me to stand with someone equally enamored who sang and danced along. She took the photos I've posted, because quite frankly her camera is waaaay better than mine. I have camera envy.

We hung around later so she could set up an interview with Rhett for later in the week--she also writes for music magazines and has a music blog. You can see her interview with Mr. Miller here. To my absolute delight, Rhett recognized me and Geo standing off to the side, walked over and gave me a big hug.

*sigh*

Did I mention I'm like a 16 year-old around him? Pathetic.

Next up, Dewey Beach. Geo passed on this excursion, but my friend Kelly was on board. Our Thelma and Louise act pulled into town Thursday afternoon. The hotel was literally one block down from the club. Sweet! We had time to kill so we headed to the beach for some much needed sun and surf.

Okay, so this is where it gets ugly... and embarrassing.

On our way back to the hotel to clean up before the show, we pass the Sprinter parked alongside the club. And who should just happen to be standing next to the bus... you guessed it, Rhett!?!

OH.Mi.GOD!! UGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggggggh!

I can't believe my fantasy husband saw me in my BATHING SUIT, sporting my crazy-assed, beach-blown, mop-top hair, reeking of surf and sweat. I'm sure the sight of me scared the bejesus out of him. He, of course said hello and threw out some other small talk to which I could only respond with a classic Neanderthal, monosyllabic grunt. How mortifying. I totally blew my chance to casually chat at length with him. Stupid, Stupid chick.

There's a chance he didn't recognize me, right? Right? Yeah, right.

To add to my humiliation, when I caught up with him after the show, I was all sloshy and slurry having drunk waaaay too much vodka during the show. Can you say Asshat? I did get some nice photos, though.

Bottle and Cork, Dewey Beach

See that look right there... he's thinking about how hot I looked in my swim suit. 

This post is gi-normous, so I'll post part three of Rhett Fest in the next post...because I know you can't get enough of my little obsession. Ciao!

More Bits And Pieces  

or cleaning out my mind's attic...

As  noted in the prior posting, my muse hit the highway some time last week and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. (www.nataliedee.com)

So I figured I'd just toss a bunch of random mental trash on the junk heap. 

1. As if you didn't know, the Steelers won the Super Bowl lasts Sunday. Pittsburgh celebrated with a "Salute to the Champions" parade on Tuesday. 350,000+ Steelers Nation faithful lined the Boulevard to cheer and revel in the glory of our unprecedented sixth title. Some of the players stepped off their cars and walked the parade route. One went one step further...

Yes, Troy Polamalu treated his rabid fans with a repeat of his crowd dive from 2005. You can see a much cleaner, professional video from a rival TV station here. Can you say "crowd pleaser"?

2. So apparently an Arizona newspaper reporter has been bad mouthing Steelers fans. He was saying crap like we're just a bunch of rude, ignorant rubes who are loud and ill-mannered. WaWaWa...sore loser. Does this cat not know there is an entire NATION of Steelers fans around the country and the world...even in Phoenix?!? What a douche. Perhaps he and the other Cardinals fans should remove the stick from their collective butts and learn how to have some good, old-fashioned, blue collar fun. Bottom line is they can say anything they want. The fact remains we have six Lombardi trophies AND Troy Polamalu stage diving. In the words of Tina Fey... he can just suck it.

3. Okay, so remember my "wiener of the week" posting from January 28th wherein I spoke of a co-worker's anxiety over what was prowling around in her new beau's pantaloons? No? Well you can read it here, then come back.... I'll wait.....

(whistling Jeopardy theme....) 

Done, okay. So last night we were at a wine tasting with one of our favorite couples. Afterwards we were at a bar when I told my girlfriend Kels about my wiener posting. Well... she has her own horrendous hambone horror story. 

Get this!! She once dated a guy who had one ball ... and two holes.

I repeat... Two. Holes.

The one ball thing is no big deal, but he had TWO HOLES. 

I mean, come on. That just brings up all kinds of questions.... what happened to his other nard... what's with the two holes... seriously, does like .. pee come flying out in two different directions?  How the hell does one end up with two holes in his schlong? A Prince Albert piercing gone horribly wrong? A shaky Mohel at a Bris? A bizarre bicycle accident? (seriously...who's bright idea was it to make boys bikes with that scrotum crushing bar, anyway?)  What could possibly have happened to this dude to turn his tube steak into a meat whistle.

Of course, she was so stunned (and much more of a lady than I) she never talked to him about it, thereby denying we twisted and curious from obtaining the (w)hole story. Sorry. had to do it. Oh well. Maybe it's more fun to ponder anyway. 

4. I haven't obsessed about the king of all my things lately, so here's a video just for me... because it's MY blog, dammit!! 

One of the best parts of Rhett's solo shows is his storytelling and banter with the audience. This is classic. And, no... they won't play at your wedding... unless you have lots and lots of money to throw their way. 

Hmmmmm... note to self... if we ever win the lottery... restring all your guitars and pack up all your stuff, boys. You're playing at my house!

Obsession Of The Month: A Day With Old 97's @ Diesel, October 9, 2008

(just blame it on being a girl....)

On October 9th I had the great pleasure of meeting Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond at an in-studio concert at WYEP here in my home town. They could not have been more charming and kind and gracious to those of us in attendance. They chatted with every fan, signed autographs, swapped stories and patiently posed for photos. It was delightful to watch these two old friends interact with each other as well as the audience. It was evident they've been buds for a looooong time, seeing each other through life's pathos. Murry, the jokester, kept things light and buoyant. Rhett, soft-spoken and mild-mannered, charmed the ladies in the room without even trying. *sigh* Hands down, two of the sweetest performers I've ever met. They remembered everyone's name and even changed their set list to accommodate a little girl's last minute request.

And then that night they took the stage, and Rhett released a riptide of raw emotion filled with angst, anger, longing, betrayal, passion and heartache which flooded over the crowd like a breeched levee. The energy level so high it lifted the audience and carried us from one blistering hook to another. Un-freaking-believable!! They totally blew the roof off the joint. Ninety minutes sailed by in a moment, and I so did not want the evening to end. Like an over-indulged child, I wanted to scream, "Do it again! Do it again!"

Old 97's is the best band I've seen live in 15-20 years. Their performance is incredibly tight for a band that doesn't rehearse. I suppose it's a testament to their skill as musicians as well as the depth of their relationships. Or maybe it's the Jameson. Either way, the boys are in sync! Rhett's stage presence is so captivating I dare anyone (particularly female) to watch anything else. You just can't do it. Not when he's soulfully belting out those brilliant lyrics. Yeah, okay...the hip action is pretty stellar, too. I may be older, but I'm still a girl for God's sake.

The next morning I jumped on line and bought everything that was missing from my Old 97's catalog. If you're a newcomer, I highly suggest starting off with the quintessential live CD,

Alive and Wired from 2005. This two disc set includes a large portion of their work up to that date. It's one of the few live recordings which successfully transports the listener to the live club experience. It's exactly like being there. No shit. Search through iTunes for some other choice chestnuts and a copy of Blame it on Gravity, and a happy camper you will be.

Many thanks to Rhett and Murry for taking the time out of their busy schedule to stop by the radio station to perform. It was great meeting them both. The concert was phenomenal.

I cannot wait to catch the next one.

And for f*ck's sake...GO SEE THEM!!!!

**The guys are so cool they let anyone record their shows. There are an abundance of videos on YouTube. Search either Old 97's or Rhett Miller and plant yourself down for a while.

www.Hitbyatrain.com

www.rhettmiller.com

http://blurt-online.com/video/view/138/ (podcast inerview from Athens, GA 10/20/08)