Live Ledge #296: 1997

1997 was a pretty great year for music, especially if you're a fan of alt-country music. The Jayhawks, Son Volt, Steve Earle, Whiskeytown, and so many others made quintessential "Americana" rock and roll during this great year.

Personally, it was also a fabulous year for local music. Our music scene was thriving, although there were indications that things may be about to change. Many bands were breaking up, and attendance was starting to dissipate as the "normals" began to migrate back to godawful dance clubs.

Yet it didn't stop my favorite local band, Violet, from putting out a behemoth of a record. Stockpiling songs over the years, Rich Show pretty much recorded everything that culminated in a triple disc set of songs. Somehow, this epic release had very few disposable tracks, and this fan went back in time during the four tracks played from that record, "The Soundtrack of a Man Who Will Never Amount to Anything".

As always, head to Stitcher or iTunes to nab this, or...

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1. The Beta Band, Dry The Rain
2. Elliott Smith, Ballad Of Big Nothing
3. The Honeydogs, Rumor Has It
4. Blue Mountain, Generic America
5. The Hilltops, I'd Like To See You (Note: Played in error as it's not a 97 release)
6. The Jayhawks, Trouble
7. The Jayhawks, Big Star
8. Whiskeytown, Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
9. Whiskeytown, Waiting To Derail
10. Steve Earle, Somewhere Out There
11. Steve Earle, Here I Am
12. Supersuckers, Roadworn And Weary
13. Supersuckers, Dead In The Water
14. Son Volt, Cemetery Savior
15. Son Volt, Caryatid Easy
16. Slobberbone, Barrel Chested
17. The Bottle Rockets, Indianapolis
18. Violet, So Lonely
19. Violet, This Time
20. Violet, Rumours Burial
21. Violet, Laundromat
22. The Geraldine Fibbers, Trashman in Furs
23. Buick MacKane, End
24. Guided By Voices, Bulldog Skin
25. Redd Kross, One Chord Progression
26. Grandpaboy, Hot Un
27. Grandpaboy, Psychopharmacology
28. Thee Headcoatees, Teenage Kicks