Playing a Monday night in D.C. can be tough for any act, particularly when the gig kicks off at 10 p.m. But The Old 97s started as bar band in Dallas, so they know what gets a crowd moving any day of the week.
At the 9:30 Club last night — with opening sets from Heartless Bastards and BJ Barham from American Aquarium — Old 97’s deviated from some songs’ typical arrangements, just to mix things up. The group switched to minor key for “Nineteen,” darkening a song about young love, and played the usually somber “Valentine” at a faster pace with a rougher style.
Never mind the Monday night gig: Old 97’s frantic “Every Night Is Friday Night” was just what the doctor ordered. Quipped bassist Murry Hammond, it’s “a song which makes us the Cheap Trick of alt-country.”
BJ Barham:
Heartless Bastards:
Old 97’s:
All photos by Erica Bruce