Old 97's at Two Brothers Summer Festival - 21 June 2013
It was a race against TIME, people. A race I tell you. This fine Aurora IL show was the night following the excellent Milwaukee show. And boy was it slow-going that morning after. A major storm moved in right about check-out time. The daylight could hardly be called that; it was nearly noon and easily looked like 6pm. When the worst of it seemed past us, K-Star and I got on the road back to her homestead. Gloomy drive til we hit our pit stop, gas & Culver's for lunchly re-invigoration. We were getting to that slap-happy point and thoroughly enjoyed the reintroduction of nutrients to our bloodstream. I guess I'm using the term 'nutrients' pretty loosely.After our safe arrival, I was out the door again fairly quickly. I made a sweep of any possibly forgotten possessions, and poof! I was hoping to get home in time to take the Metra whose line ended at the venue. Did that happen? On a Friday, on the highway in the Chicago area? Pshhhh, I made it home in time to shower and receive a rollicking welcome home from the dog. Of course, Jon was also excited to see me, but did not dance around in circles, licking my face to express his pleasure. He's subtle like that. I had to all but turn around as soon as arriving, no time to take a train trip. I drove and arrived with plenty of time to get settled. It looked pretty crowded, but I wasn't truly sure because I really only roamed the front of the stage area. I didn't even bother exploring the fest. Lord knows I didn't come to drink beer. The lovely Mr. & Mrs. King held a front row spot for me and soon enough we were all off and running. Goosebumps ensued. Now I rarely let my ears go unprotected at shows, but since we were outdoors, I let it slide this time. (I paid for it, but they weren't the loudest crickets to try to keep me from sleep.)
The weather was unusually comfortable, especially when the breeze blew. The band's view from the stage was the whole of the fest, and the Aurora Metra station with intermittent train activity off to their right. I know Murry enjoyed that view. The stage was set about 10 feet in front of us, we were behind some flimsy fencing keeping a wide passageway open for the press that were filming and photographing. The setlist was similar to the one the night before, full of fun and powerrrrrrr. (listed below) They seemed to be really feeling it and looked really good doing it. Rhett commented repeatedly on the night's gorgeous weather, complete with the almost full Super Moon! Maybe it was that moon, because Mr. Miller seemed to really be laying out the provocation. Now the boy is dreamy as hell, but tonight he was damn sexy. Lots of EXTRA swivel-y slinky-ness. I dare say, we in the front row were feeling somewhat violated, but in an extremely consensual manner, emphasis on the 'sensual'. Yowza! Ken, wandering to every edge and corner; Murry, sticking pretty close to his starting point. Rhett got a bit bold and repeatedly came verrrrrry close to the edge of the stage. Every breeze we caught was a moment of perfection. It seemed to me that the crowd was very familiar with the band, and knowing it might be the lone opportunity to see the boys this summer, all who were in the know had attended. There was some amazing give & take happening while the funky stage light effects were dancing about the background. I may or may not have proposed to Sheri in a moment of weakness during "Question". LOL I mean someone has to do it, right?
Just as things exploded in finality, somehow a guitar pick found its way to me. It softly bounced off of my shoulder, to the ground, where I then retrieved it. Good enough for me. And a suitable ending for sure.
Barrier Reef
Won't Be Home No More
Victoria
Miss Molly
West Texas Teardrops
Lonely Holiday
Weightless
The One
Can't Get a Line
Let the Whiskey Take the Reins
Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)
Question
Salome
Mama Tried
Busted Afternoon
Rollerskate Skinny
Streets Of Where I'm From
Dance With Me
White Port
Big Brown Eyes
4 Leaf Clover
Doreen
Wish the Worst
Champaign IL
Time Bomb
