The Old 97's and Eisley

It's becoming quite the summer for high-profile homecomings 'round these parts: first the Dixie Chicks' return to Dallas for a country-rebel victory lap last month at the American Airlines Center and now alt-country do-gooders the Old 97's and young alt-rock hopefuls Eisley, both in town to help celebrate the ninth anniversary of KDGE-FM's The Adventure Club at Trees. For the 97's it might be a reunion with more than just old fans, since singer Rhett Miller's been on the road (and in MasterCard commercials) pimping his fine solo debut and his finer haircut, which he ought to consider toning down unless his latest batch of songs really rules. An Elektra Records spokeswoman promises that the 97's are still signed to the label, but with Miller and his wife's imminent move to upstate New York and the birth of their first child approaching, more opportunities like this could be exactly what the song doctor ordered. The kids in Eisley, fresh off a U.S. tour opening for Coldplay, are probably just stoked to get to play a room smaller than Madison Square Garden. The Tyler band's been in L.A. working on its full-length debut for the Warner Bros. subsidiary Record Collection (also home to Har Mar Superstar and the Walkmen), and if words like "L.A." and "Warner Bros." and especially "Har Mar Superstar" put the scare in you, give the band's recent Laughing City EP a spin--it climaxes in a lovely little piece of strummy dream-pop that suggests Eisley can hold their own in the industry's deep water.