Rhett Miller - Chicago, IL

There are only a handful of musicians out there who are actually a joy to watch, and Rhett Miller's name is easily at the top of that list. But that said, the last few times Miller performed with his trusty band, Old 97s, he seemed to lack a certain spark. When it came time for Miller to hit the stage with his new band The Believers, who he has employed to help tour his second solo release The Believer, it took all of five seconds to recognize that the spark was back.

Chicago has always been a city that welcomes Miller with open arms and this night at the Park West Theater was no exception. Miller gives as good as he gets and treated his audience to a set of thirty (30!) songs that he culled from his two solo records and the Old 97s catalog. Highlights from the set list were a revamped, steroids version of "Barrier Reef," "Stoned," "Singular Girl" (which is one of two Old 97s songs that made it onto the new solo release) "Dressing Room Walls" (which Miller informed us was written in the basement of the now defunct Lounge Ax back when he was seemingly a much sadder person) and "The Believer." The latter was written when Miller heard about Elliot Smith's suicide, but last night he dedicated it to one of his Chicago friends, John Glick of The Returnables who was killed in a tragic car accident last summer. "The Believer" might just be the best song on the new record, but it is unquestionably the one that packs the most emotional punch when it is performed live.

During the solo acoustic portion of the set Miller got halfway through "Question," a beloved little Old 97s ditty about a proposal, when he stopped and said "From time to time I get asked to do this. Kristy? Are you here? Todd has a question for you." Well, Kristy and Todd were somewhere out there and when the crowd around them broke into cheers, we know he got a "yes." So, if either Kristy or Todd is reading this, congratulations you crazy kids. Congratulations are also in order for Miller himself as his wife is about to give birth to their second child.

Okay, back to the show. The Old 97s are, of course, irreplaceable. That said, Miller has done one heck of a job assembling a band that fills those big shoes and eyeglasses. That is thanks, in large part, to his choice of drummer, Angela Webster. Now, Miller is one of those performers who has buckets of charisma and an unbelievable amount of energy (I would love to know what this guy is eating) and is impossible to take your eyes off of, even if you are a totally heterosexual male. So, believe me when I say this woman must really be doing something amazing to get us to shift our focus. And she is. First of all, she concentrates so hard on what she is doing and does so with one of the most intense expressions you can imagine, and then all of a sudden she just breaks into a huge grin, and I'm sorry, but even the most cynical of people could not help but smile along with her. She adeptly fills in for Rachel Yamagata on a duet with Miller for the song "Fireflies." All around us people were talking about Webster and how much fun she seemed to be having. Aside from her shiny personality, she is also one heck of a drummer and that was never clearer than on that galloping, crashing intro to "Four Leaf Clover." Tommy Borscheid/lead guitar, and Greg Beshers/bass are both solid choices. As a band "The Believers" have breathed new life into many of Miller's older songs, and made the new songs sound even better live.