Dewey set to be 'hit by a train' as Old 97's roll into town

It's a bit soon to make a call on the weather in Dewey on Thursday, June 25, but rest assured it is going to be one of the best beach days of the season.

That's when the Old 97's are set to steamroll into town for a show at the Bottle & Cork.

The band first played the Cork last summer, and seem to have found the crowd raucous enough for their liking, so they're back for more. That or heartthrob front man Rhett Miller just wanted some time to bronze on the beach at the outset of the band's six-week tour.

Miller, the band's principal songwriter and bassist Murry Hammond have both branched out in recent years to record solo records. They'll each perform a solo set before the Old 97's take the stage, making it an evening devoted to the Dallas-based alt-country heroes.

Last year's "Blame it on Gravity," the band's seventh full-length studio release, is a return to form for the band that's made a name for itself with its unique ability to take heart-wrenching country chords, speed them up, and make them sound down right happy.

Many of the band's songs are built around a classic two-step rhythm, only to be piled on by Ken Bethea's lush lead guitars and Miller's schoolyard smart pop vocals.

Miller does his share of exploring unrequited love, seemingly a prerequisite for any country singer, yet does so in a way that seems to poke fun at himself and puts the situation in its proper perspective.

It's a far cry from the woeful, lonesome sound perfected by the likes of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, yet still carries the same tongue-in-cheek humor.

"Talking to you girl, is like long division," he sings on "Singular Girl," the under-rated gem that first appeared as a bonus track to 2001's "Satellite Rides" before it was slicked up for Miller's 2006 solo release "The Believer."

On "Here's to the Halcyon," which is among the strongest tracks on "Blame it on Gravity," a scorned Miller likens a girl gone astray to a sinking ship, mocking her as she goes down: "Here's to the Halcyon, forever may she rest, at the bottom of the ocean for the good lord knows the best."

But Hammond also shines on "Gravity," with "Beautiful Thing" -- a heartwarming ode to a friend. Hammond's contributions to the band's albums are few-and-far-between, but almost always stand up among the strongest.

Hammond, along with drummer Philip Peeples, are clearly the pacesetters for the group, the ticking to the time bomb that's sure to explode at each and every Old 97's show.

For a club like the Bottle & Cork, which usually plays host to second-rate cover bands and the cycle of has-been modern rockers (yes you, Sugar Ray), scoring a real rock n' roll band that's paid it's dues and has the songs is a nice mid-summer treat.