by Mike Orren

It was a special night for Old 97's fans -- too bad we behaved like we didn't deserve it.

DALLAS — I don't know if it was a coincidence that The Old 97's led off their main set with "Won't Be Home," but I found it sadly, lyrically apropos after the debacle that was the opening sets of "An Evening With the Old 97's."

How is it that a crowd of supposedly devout fans at a sold-out show, who show up early for the opening sets by the two frontmen decide that they'd rather gab, cluck, chat, yammer, and shout over each other to the point that the music is entirely unlistenable? Add to that the fact that there's a perfectly nice bar downstairs at the Sons, and I'm completely flummoxed.

Now I'm no concert-going newbie. I know that Dallas crowds are renowned for this kind of behavior. And I don't expect the pristine quiet of a church, even as Murry Hammond is belting out haunting spirituals. But I have never seen anything this bad -- many others I talked to between sets and in Twitter-land agreed. The band kept a good sense of humor about it, but I frankly would have walked off the stage with a Johnny Cash salute. Dallas, you embarrassed yourself last night. This is why we can't have nice things.

That said, things improved considerably with the main set. Although I'd miscalculated earlier that the band would not be able to keep its "no repeats except 'Timebomb'" streak intact, I wasn't far off -- which meant that the night was full of the deep cuts and a few favorite singalongs that they'd been saving for the last night.

You can check my review of the second show to get the high praise on the musicianship -- turns out that after night one they decided to do full-on afternoon rehearsals for each gig. (Lord, they must be exhausted.) And it showed. But last night also had the rough-and-ragged wheels off spirit alongside the chops-- best of both worlds.

The show was chock full of rarities and special moments. A survey of notables:

Rhett did a great version of "Singular Girl" and even dug back to his high school album Mythologies for "Candy Apple Corkscrew Hair."

"What We Talk About" is one of those songs they'd largely put away after the Fight Songs tour, so it was great to see it in the mix. "Eyes for You" from Early Tracks was a great surprise -- really a fun tune they should do more often. "Wish the Worst" was a rousing singalong -- in parts the band didn't even need to sing at all. (Proof that this crowd of miscreants should have known better earlier in the night.)

"Smokers" as the show entered the final stretch did indeed smoke. The band was clearly in top gear at this point. "House that Used to Be" showed off Rhett and Murry's harmonies. The entire building was shaking for "Doreen," which featured a really nice moment for those paying attention: Murry and Rhett kind of leaning against each other and sharing a look I read as "This is awesome."

The encore included the rare "Visiting Hours." And, for once they did not stop with "Timebomb," although many left and missed the wonderfully tasteless uber-rarity "Jack the Necrophiliac." But for those of us still there, it was a great treat.

Photos by Lindsay Lauber