Sat, June 4, Old 97’s

After almost breaking through in the late ’90s with an infectious blend of power-pop hooks and country twang, the Old 97’s lost momentum and almost broke up during the aughts. Literate frontman Rhett Miller’s solo career beckoned. But the band avoided the ditch and followed up the fraught sessions of 2008’s disappointing Blame It on Gravity with a positively crackling batch of songs for last year’s The Grand Theatre, Volume One. It’s brimming with crisp melodies, indomitable energy and Miller’s hopeful earnest ache, which harks back to the Replacements’ Paul Westerberg. A second volume culled from those sessions is due in July. 2708 J Street, www.old97s.com.