Old 97's live and for free

It was flat-out wonderful that the state of Texas, seeking to boost tourism, decided to have the Old 97's play free shows in conjunction with a traveling exhibit. In San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza, the boys played for over an hour, including an encore. The main set included a rendition of R.E.M.'s "Driver 8," one of four to be featured on an upcoming EP of covers; they also performed a couple of songs from their new album, due in October. For my part, I was delighted beyond words that a couple of Murry's songs made it onto the set list: the theme-appropriate "W. TX Teardrops" and the absolutely lovely "Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue." It must be said that both Rhett Miller's and Murry Hammond's singing sounded rusty, but Miller in particular was energetic enough to compensate for any vocal shortcomings. And, um, this was a free show!