“Empty bottle was half empty,” Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s began singing not a minute past 9 p.m. April 19, opening the show with one of their most beloved songs, “Barrier Reef” at the band’s Most Messed Up Album Release Party held at AT&T Performing Arts Center’s outdoor venue, . A cacophonous mix of “Wooos!!

Last fall, Dallas-based alt-country band the Old 97’s head- ed to Austin with producer Salim Nourallah to record their tenth LP, “Most Messed Up.”. The album is an unruly, unfiltered and unadulterated flashback though the band’s last 20 years together. The opening track, “Longer Than You’ve Been Alive,” is a statement of what’s to come: “Most of our shows were a triumph of rock / Although some nights I might have been check- in’ the clock.”.