Old 97s w/ David Wax Museum @ The Pabst Theater

For Dallas, Texas alt-country pioneers theOld 97s, timing is everything. With a name that conjures a strong sense ofdependability and a timeless quality, the band has spent the past 17 yearsmaking alternative country music that has heart as well as muscle. While a bandthat lasts that long might ditch tradition for what's hip at the time, the Old97s have stayed true to their roots with a fairly humble approach to their music.%uFFFD

As the Old 97s brought an hour and a half long setof their best known songs, several covers and a new song Thursday night, it wasclear that the concert held extra meaning for the band. In between songs, theband's charismatic frontman Rhett Miller threw out nuggets about the previoustimes the band played Milwaukee.The band's first show in the city, a performance at the Rave way back in 1994,was more than a bit humbling. The attendance was sparse and the band ended up$30 out. Another time the band slept on the floor of a sausage factory.%uFFFD

Regardless of these experiences, the band kept at itand this time in Milwaukee, with considerably more in attendance, they showedhow much they've perfected the art of taking sweaty, drink-along hard-edged alt-countrysongs, throwing the crowd in a near-drunken joyful hysteria.

With the furious energy of a charging bull, Millerand the rest of the band offered up a good helping of songs from their firstalbum Hitchhike to Rhome (including“St. Ignatius” where Miller's lyric “I'm not a big star, but I've got a bigcar” has a bit of irony now) through their last two efforts, Blame it on Gravity and the EP Mimeograph. The band also offered asneak peek into their upcoming double album tentatively titled The Grand Theatre with a song about Champaign, Ill.There were plenty of messy and greasy country songs to be danced to and talesfrom the dusty roads of Texas to Wisconsin.

Opener the David Wax Museum certainly also had aninteresting stories to tell and offered a charming, intimate and compelling setof their Americana and folk songs, many radiating with the drenching heat ofMexico and driven by instruments such as fiddle and accordion.%uFFFD There's good reason for the Mexican feel, asDavid Wax spent months studying there and in the process added related andintriguing instruments to his band such as jarana and a donkey's jawbone. Theband grew more energetic as their set went on with everyone joining in thecelebratory, playful atmosphere.

Photo by CJ Foeckler