Given his prolific career over a short lifespan, I should really do a full write-up of Conor Oberst and his new outfit, the Mystic Valley Band. But with Election Day and the Clapperclaw Festival coming up fast, I can't fit much more in my head, so here are just a few brief thoughts on the show:
1)Thank you Billings. Billings, Montana was one of three "hometowns" Oberst called out for the Mystic Valley Band, the other two being Tepoztlan, Mexico, where the disc was cut and good ol' Minneapolis, where he test ran material in a two-day stand at the 400 Bar late last year. But it was in Billings that guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth played with the band for the first time, the extra spark of country lightening to galvanize the band. Hollingsworth had some of the sweetest moments of the night, from the dead sexy barroom lead on "Corina Corina" to the sparse slide to close on "Breezy". Neither would have been out of place on Blonde on Blonde or Modern Times, and was a great example of how talent magnifies talent.
2)The band's the thing, but it rises and falls with the bandleader. After ceding lead to the band as a whole on an enegetic but average "Get Well Cards", Oberst took it all back home for "Cape Canaveral". In blue light and with hushed, forward intensity, he showed why his reputation as a songwriter is so well deserved and why he can draw crowds, and collaborators. The best Conor can be sung holding on to someone else, or trying to hold on to yourself.
3)"Victory's sweet/Even deep in the cheap seats." Living and working for something grander or more expansive than the introspection/narcissm for which he has been previously derided by some has done Oberst good. I won't deny that I was hoping for some of those older songs, knowing that the MVB has been doing "Lua" and "Bowl of Oranges" on the road. But whether it is the band, or getting into politics backing the Obama campaign, Oberst seemed happier, more upbeat than previous incarnations, a pleasure to watch riff around, grownup, earnest and hopeful. And with the stadiums Obama's been packing, there is plenty of good company up there in the nosebleeds.
Setlist
Nikorette
Sausolito
Get Well Cards
Cape Canaveral
Moab
Slowly
I Got a Reason #1
Spoiled
Corina Corina
I Got a Reason #2
NYC
Souled Out
Milk Thistle
Encore
Snake Hill
Sundown
Kodachrome (Paul Simon Cover)
Hospital
Breezy
Classic Conor: "When The President Talks to God". The opening to this video calls it a "music video, only shitty". Like the last 8 years: a President, only shitty. Here comes change.
Posts
1 comment:
Good review Carl, and thanks for sharing the setlist-there were quite a few songs (especially the newer ones) that I had no idea what the titles were, so thanks for providing that. I think you hit on something that I also covered in my review about how the new band has freed Conor from the pressure of being the focal point of the band, allowing him to relax and have a lot of fun with the music. The band was a lot more familiar with the new material compared to the rough edges of the 400 Bar show, and it showed. They were tight with the songs that required it, and loose on the songs that had more room for it, and clearly having a good time with the songs. Plus, it's always nice to see a band that clearly loves the city they are playing in. That affection was clearly matched by the audience, as well. A great show-still miss hearing the Bright Eyes stuff, but the new material the band is playing is good in it's own right. A fun night.
Post a Comment