I don’t exactly recall how I first heard about The Old 97’s. It may have come from their music appearing on the soundtrack to Scrubs. Someone I know may have talked about them. I’m not really sure. All I know is that, before this year, I had a handful of their songs and enjoyed them when they showed up in shuffle play.

Then I used a gift card I got for Christmas to buy Blame it on Gravity, their new album. And they scheduled a concert in Baltimore. And a friend posted on Twitter about that show. He wanted to see if anyone wanted to go, and I jumped on that offer immediately. What a great decision.

I thoroughly enjoyed “An Evening with the Old 97’s” at the Recher Theatre last weekend. The unique set up had bass player Murry Hammond and guitarist Rhett Miller each play a solo set before the full band took the stage. Miller made sense because he recently released a solo album and has had some great solo work previously. Hammond, on the other hand, confounded the crowd with a mix of Old 97’s songs, old-time country pieces and gospel dirges, for lack of a better word. It wasn’t bad, just different.

Then Rhett hit the stage. The change was like going from the air conditioning into the summer heat. He rocked and thrashed and basically made you wonder how one man with an acoustic guitar created such a layered sound. Besides the frenzied songs, Rhett kept the audience on its toes with some pretty good stage conversation.

After he closed with “Our Love,” there was a little break before the whole band took the stage. That’s when the real treat started. I knew about Miller’s smooth voice and clever wordplay, but nothing prepared me for the way the foursome brings a song together. Guitarist Ken Bethea blew me away time and time again.

I wish I had a set list, but I didn’t pay that much attention, plus I didn’t know a lot of the songs individually that night. That has changed since I bought both Rhett’s solo album and the band’s greatest hits the next day. I do know they covered a lot of the new album, plus threw in favorites of mine like “King of All the World,” “Murder (or a Heart Attack),” and “Barrier Reef.”

The Old 97’s really know how to put on a live show. Miller’s light blue shirt was drenched with sweat and turned almost black by the end of the night. Hammond – who is Ed Helms’ doppleganger – rocked on the bass like few can. Bethea often hid in the corners of the stage, but stood out with the licks that make the songs so distinctive. Drummer Phillip Peeples held it all together.

I have a tendency to get a little obsessed when I experience something as fun as this, so I think it’s fair to say I’ll go see the band next time I get the chance.