It’s not often one gets to see four exceedingly talented and versatile musicians play together on one stage, which is why I tried to absorb as many details from the night as possible. With so much backlogged material between the lot of them, I should have figured the setlist would be on steroids, but I certainly wasn’t expecting three hours of non-stop music. Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis not only played Monsters of Folk tunes, but they also shared aspects of their solo efforts.
The evening started off with an energetic version of “Say Please” then got instantly mellow with the following tunes, “The Right Place”, “Soul Singer In A Session Band” (Bright Eyes cover) and “Slow Down Jo”. The pace picked back up a bit up with the string plucking song, “Man Named Truth”, which was followed by the introduction of Will Johnson, the bands’ drummer, to the microphone for a couple songs with Yimmy Yames. I really enjoyed Johnson’s voice; it was soothing in a raspy sorta way (think Ray Lamontagne).
As far as My Morning Jacket songs went for the evening, Jim James’ solo, acoustic version of “Look At You” was one of the most memorable songs of the night. The slow jam pretty much silenced the audience…at least until he started using his guitar as a drum machine ( I was diggin the hollow knocks). The song, “At Dawn”, which came later in the evening, sounded pretty vibrant with all the Monsters joining in with Jim, as did “Golden”.
Even though it seemed like M.Ward was filling more of a supporting role, his rendition of “Vincent O’Brien” was a standout moment for me because his honest voice made the not so chipper lyrics like, “He only sings when he’s sad/ But he’s sad all the time, so he sings the whole night through/Yeah, he sings in the day-time, too”, seem rather charming. Also, things got a bit playful on stage during the song, “To Save Me”, when Conor planted a kiss on Jim’s cheek while they hovered over the same mic.
Conor and fellow Bright Eyes’ member Mogis began their audience intimacy time with the semi-depressing, mandolin infused song, “We Are Nowhere, and Its Now”. The duo proceeded along with, “A Song To Pass The Time”, after which, Oberst called for “Jim, Mother Fuckin James” to join him on stage for a lovely, bare-bones adaptation of, “Lime Tree”.
Then there is Mike Mogis, the vocally silent backbone of the band. While watching him switch instruments multiple times (lap steel, mandolin, guitar), I concluded that he deserved a gold star for MVP of the evening.
After about 27 or so songs, and before the encore, Monsters of Folk got somewhat animated with their last (wink) song of the night, “Losin Yo Head”. (I think it was Oberst who flung a beer into the crowd, but don’t quote me cause I ain’t said shit). After some cheering and floor stomping from the audience, the suit-wearing fellows returned for three more songs. During, “Travelin’ Song”, Oberst was perched on the drum set kicking the cymbals right before he tumbled to the floor (from where I was standing it looked like he fell off stage, but apparently he didn’t). The show concluded with one of my personal favorites, “His Master’s Voice”, and a proper bow from Monsters of Folk.
While some of the individual performances were definitely outstanding, the most entertaining moments arose when the four gents (five with the drummer) were playing together as the Monsters of Folk.
