Sarah Jaffe & the Old 97’s at the Bing Crosby Theater on Tuesday, May 31st
As Wayne Larson said, Texas has taken over the Bing Crosby Theater for the night and I was okay with that.
I don’t even know where to begin with Sarah Jaffe! She opened up the show tonight and won me over by the end of her first song. She walked out on stage alone and began to sing then her band joined her on stage to complete their set. Her band consisted of Scott on Keys & Violin, Jeremy on Drums, Miranda on Bass Guitar, and Robert on Guitar. Her vocals are gorgeous; just completely powerful and beautiful. I enjoyed every part of her set, even when she broke a string on her guitar and we had to wait awkwardly for them to fix it. It was only awkward though because everyone was so quiet and attentive; which she was thankful for and even joked around with a little bit throughout the night because she wasn’t used to such an attentive audience.
Some of the songs that I absolutely loved were “Vulnerable,” “When You Rest,” “Clementine,” and “Even Born Again.” A quick note about “Clementine” was how cool it was to hear her talk about how she didn’t want the song on her album but her mom loved it, and so she ended up putting it on the album and it is now one of her more popular songs. Sarah treated us with a few new songs which were going to be on her new EP that is due out this August; which I so have my eyes on and am looking forward to checking out. Spokane must like Sarah because during “Clementine” a kid danced his way down the aisle, put his hood on, and danced during the song in the front row. Plus a girl halfway through the set yelled “I Love You Sarah!” I do know that if Sarah ever came back through town I wouldn’t miss it. For her final song she asked us to sing along, and it took us some coaxing into but the Bing crowd finally warmed up to the idea and we joined her in our Spokane attempt at harmonies. Sarah is a gem… I hope this wasn’t her last time in town because I was completely blown away. August, her EP comes out… for more information CLICK HERE.
I don’t think the Bing Crosby Theater has had that much fun in a long time! Tonight was my first time ever seeing a crowd of people run down to dance in the aisle’s for a rock concert at the Bing! Not only was their dancing but it was so loud the light fixtures were shaking! I was shocked and loved every part of it.
The Old 97’s fresh out of playing Sasquatch put on a hell of a set for Spokane! Their alt-country rock songs were perfect for dancing too and were the right kick we needed on a Tuesday night. We caught a few of their songs at Sasquatch but being able to see them inside the darling Bing was a complete treat! I couldn’t get over how much they shook the house up! All of the guys are total rock stars, complete with the hair, energy, and Rhett’s ability to swing his arm in circles as he is playing the guitar. It was cool to see all of the people at the show get excited to stand up and rock out at their show; especially when they heard their favorite songs.
They played over twenty songs for us tonight, it was incredible. Songs of the night included; “Living In The State of Texas,” “Niteclub,” “No Baby I,” “West Texas Teardrops,” “Let the Whiskey Take the Reins,” “Barrier Reef,” “Please Hold On While the Train is Moving,” “Doreen,” “Question,” “Color of A Lonely Heart is Blue,” “Rollerskate Skinny,” “Streets Of Where I’m From,” “Champaign, Illinois,” “Smokers,” “Every Night Is Friday Night Without You,” “Won’t Be Home,” and a few more!
It was a blast of a night; they were playing to the crowd and tossing guitar picks. The only thing I was missing was a sweet western wear shirt! Spokane loves the Old 97’s and this was their first time at the Bing Crosby Theater, and I hope it’s not their last!
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
