Old 97's celebrated the 15th anniversary of 'Too Far to Care' at Webster Hall (pics/setlist) and Music Hall of Williamsburg

October 26, 2012

Old 97’s @ Webster Hall, 10/23/2012
Old 97s

In the early fall of 1996, the Old 97’s flew to New York City to consummate our courtship with Elektra Records. The following morning, we were scheduled to appear on one of the top floors of Rockefeller Plaza to finally meet CEO Sylvia Rhone and “ink” the deal. We landed the evening before and rode in a limousine to the Paramount, a swanky hotel “just off Times Square.” The lobby was as massive as the rooms were tiny, and everything about the hotel seemed to ooze the kind of hipness that inflates the nightly rate by about 80%.

I had my guitar, a bunch of nervous energy, and an hour to kill before dinner. So I did what I often do in such a situation. I wrote a song. I wanted to impress the A&R folks at dinner, sure, but more than that I wanted to capture the feeling I had at that moment – the feeling of being on the brink of something huge. My life was changing right before my eyes. The dream I’d fostered since adolescence was coming true.

The above is a story that Rhett Miller recounted about the making of the song “Broadway” from the Old 97s’ Too Far To Care LP, released 15 years ago. That record was celebrated (and played in full) at anniversary shows at Webster Hall on Tuesday (10/23) and Music Hall of Williamsburg the next night (10/24). Salim Nourallah played support, as did Rhett who opened the night with an acoustic set. The tour, which kicked off in September, inches toward eventual completion in Nashville, TN on Monday (10/29).

More pictures, plus setlists for Old 97’s and Miller solo from Webster Hall are below.

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Rhett Miller

Salim Nourallah

Old 97s

RHETT MILLER – 10/23/12 SETLIST
Lost Without You
Daybed
Sleepwalkin’
Lashes
Out of Love
Wreck of the Old 97

OLD 97s – 10/23/12 SETLIST
Timebomb
Barrier Reef
Broadway
Salome
W. TX Teardrops
Melt Show
Streets of Where I’m From
Big Brown Eyes
Just Like California
Curtain Calls
Niteclub
House That Used to Be
Four Leaf Clover
Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover)
The Grand Theatre
Wish the Worst
Dance With Me
Question
Lonely Holiday
White Port
Victoria
Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
Doreen
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Valentine
Champaign, IL
Timebomb