As Denton, Texas’ own Centro-matic sauntered onstage, at the jam-packed Firehouse, one thing was certain: Centro-matic had their work cut out for them. The band, so often compared to Pavement, Flaming Lips and Guided By Voices, had to open for the country rockin’ Old 97’s. Many audience members were clad in cowboy hats, drinking Budweiser, and anxiously awaiting their heroes from Dallas, Texas. There was a man in the front row that looked like Don Imus who didn’t look thrilled as Centro-matic takes the stage.
Given the situation, it was remarkable to witness Centro-matic’s reaction. They opened with “Love You Just the Same” and “Reset Anytime,” two slow, shoe-gazing numbers based around the vocal harmonies of leader Will Johnson and pianist Scott Danborn. The Don Imus look-alike was bored. By, “Flashes and Cables,” the fourth song, the audience wasn’t with them, and it was puzzling. It was quite ironic when Johnson, in his best Wayne Coyne impersonation, crooned, “Won’t someone please save us?” It was obvious that Centro-matic weren’t the ones who need to be saved. Finally, Centro-matic gained the attention of the crowd. The latter portion of the set was filled with rock songs including the jaw-dropping “Huge In Every City,” from All the Falsest Hearts Can Try. They closed their hour-long set with “Innocence Kindly Waits,” from their latest, South San Gabriel Songs-Music.
Fifty minutes later, as the Old 97’s took the stage, Don Imus was going mental. He was jumping. His black Nike Air Flight high-top shoes were practically hitting the ceiling. The crowd followed him, roaring as leader Rhett Miller and company chugged through set-openers. They played “Vicotria” from Wreck Your Life, and debuted a new song from their upcoming fifth album, Satellite Rides. Don Imus even had his arm around the girl next to him during “Melt Snow.”
When the Old97’s got to the amazing Fight Songs number, “Jagged,” their finest moment, confusion sets in. Was this the second coming of Uncle Tupelo or was this as awful as Hootie and the Blowfish? The answer came as Miller announces another new song, “Bird In A Cage.”
“This is kind of an epic,” he says, “so buckle yourselves in.” Well, the “epic” was three minutes long, but it suited the Old 97’s just fine. It became obvious, that the Old 97’s were painless and lighthearted, like 60’s pop group Paul Revere and the Raiders, who wrote crafty songs, and happily played them to their devout fan base. Therefore, a newfound appreciation of the Old 97’s develops as the regular set drew to a close. They invited Beatle Bob onstage to dance for a new song, much to Imus’ satisfaction, and closed the regular set with “Doreen.”
The encore began with a beautiful solo-acoustic version of “Valentine,” bassist Murray Hammond’s signature song, but took a detour as Miller joins him onstage for “Erica.” The unreleased song was based on the melody of “America,, the Beautiful,” with lyrics about a girl named Erica. It was dreadful, and it was disheartening when Miller said that Erica “liked it.” Does Erica need to see the doctor? Even Don Imus didn’t look that excited. They closed 105-minute show with “Nightclub” and “Time Bomb,” two fantastic standards, which made up for that “Erica” disaster.
Don Imus and many others in the crowd thought it was the best set of all time. In reality, it was a good show that left the people with a warm feeling for the Old 97’s. They’ll pass the time as everyone waits for the next great country rock band like Creedence Clearwater Revival or Uncle Tupelo, but they certainly aren’t going to change any lives.
