LIVE: Wilco w/ Conor Oberst @ Wolf Trap, 7/8

LINK TO BYT

Wilco’s been my number one favorite band for almost two years now, so I’ve done all the standard obsessive-fan stuff. I’ve seen their documentaries, I own hard copies of all their music, I stalk the website, I have multiple live recordings (which I compare and contrast endlessly). My iTunes play count tells me they’re my most-listened artist in my library. I’ve only seen them once before, but seeing as I’ve heard so many bootlegs, I sort of get what it to be expected from a live Wilco show: AWESOMENESS.

I know people like calling Wilco dad-rock (and based one the age and gender of the audience, I’d say that’s a pretty apt title…) but I think that’s misleading in that it makes you think they are boring when they are anything but. Every album they write is completely different from the one before yet they are all distinctly Wilco. Live, they are simply spectacular. Each member is ridiculously talented so when they jam they can take the music so much farther than other, younger bands can. Even though the line-up of Wilco has shifted considerably in their 15 year existence, the current roster is so uniform and tight you’d think they’ve been playing together since they were babies.

Anyway. Back to the start…

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band opened the show. Unlike Alyssa, who made her distaste for Conor Oberst very clear, I have been a fan for a while. I vividly remember my sister getting me a copy of “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” for my birthday in 7th grade, and I listened to it over and over and over again. I still like it. He may be a bit overrated in terms of the whole “Bob Dylan of Our Generation” thing, but that doesn’t make me dislike his music. I got the first Conor Oberst solo album last year and loved the more folksy tone and I love how much further he went with the country on the Mystic Valley Band album, “Outer South.” Live, I was quite impressed. The band opened with the one-two punch of “Danny Callahan” and “NYC- Gone, Gone.” Both songs were so much more lively on stage- especially “NYC,” which I didn’t love on the album but I now have a much greater appreciation for. The thing I most loved about the band’s set was that the sounded and looked like they were having a great time. I always imagined that Conor Oberst onstage would be depressing and bleak, but their set felt more like a sunny, awesome hoedown.

So now back to Wilco. As usual, I was blown away. After a tacky (but awesome) Price Is Right theme song intro, the band launched into the goofy (but awesome) “Wilco (the song).” From that point on, the show was all about having fun. The crowd was full of big fans who just wanted to hear their favorite band play some sweet songs, jam out a little bit, and then start all over. The long set contained cuts as old as “Misunderstood” and as new as “Deeper Down,” from their latest release, “Wilco (the album).” I was expecting the set to be mostly full of new tracks but the band did a good job of picking pretty evenly from their albums, save “A.M.,” which I believe was unrepresented.

Wilco has so many mopey, contemplative songs it’s hard to believe they can be so fun and free live, but I don’t think there was a single moment when someone could have looked over and seen me without a smile on my face. The fact that Wolf Trap is a great venue and the weather was perfect only added to the wonderful summer night.

Wilco set list:

• Wilco (the song)
• Shot in the Arm
• At Least That’s What You Said
• Bull Black Nova
• You Are My Face
• I’m Trying to Break Your Heart
• One Wing
• How To Fight Loneliness
• Impossible Germany
• Deeper Down
• Jesus Etc.
• Sonny Feeling
• Handshake Drugs
• Hate It Hear
• Walken
• I’m the Man Who Loves You
• Hummingbird
• ———-
• You Never Know
• Heavy Metal Drummer
• Misunderstood
• Spiders(kidsmoke)
• I’m a Wheel

New Conor Oberst! And Not One Day Too Soon.

Conor Oberst's self-titled solo debut was one of my favorite albums last year. I loved his more energetic country leanings and his meat-and-potatoes arrangements. For me, "Conor Oberst" was one of those albums that I could listen to in pretty much any mood.

Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band are releasing another album, "Outer South," on May 5. Some bloggers are noting/whining that he has not waited very long between albums and that he's going to be the next Ryan Adams, but the way I see it, more music is always a good thing, especially if it's from an artist as talented as Oberst. Plus, I love Ryan Adams and can't complain about any of his albums.

Based on the first two songs released off the album, "Slowly (Oh So Slowly)" and "Nikorette," "Outer South" is going to be super-duper. Can't wait yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!!

Nikorette- Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band

However, if this alone does not satiate your Conor craving, get pumped for "One of My Kind," the hour-long documentary that looks at Obert & Co.'s touring adventures from the past year. BUT WAIT IT GETS BETTER! The documentary will be available as a FREEEEEE stream or download on all of these site: Causecast.org, IFC.com, conoroberst.com, mergerecords.com, and wichita-recordings.com.

TRAILER:

The Killers Cover Bright Eyes. No, Really.

Wowza. This is one cover I never would've predicted. The Killers do David Bowie? Sure. The Killers do Springsteen? Yeah, fine. The Killers do U2? Duh. The Killers do Bright Eyes? Whhaaaa?!??!?!?

Yeah. Brandon Flowers & Co. have recorded a cover of Bright Eyes's "Four Winds." Let me rephrase: The Killers, who make epic disco rock, covered the song "Four Winds," by Bright Eyes, who make alternative bluegrass country jams and trembling ballads.

The thing is, I actually really, really like it. The Killers transformed "Four Winds" from a rollicking, violin-heavy country tune to a spacey dance track.

ORIGINAL.

COVER:

Indie Boy Crushes

Inspired by Stereogum's Gummy Awards, here's a list of my Top 7 Indie Boy crushes of 2008! (What do you expect, I'm a teenage girl.)



Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend)
From magazine covers to MTV interviews, shots of Koenig's preppy charm and boyish face added to all of that hot-vampire hype 2008 brought (Twilight, anyone?)



Conor Oberst
Year after year, Oberst brings that underfed, angled haircut, haven't slept in days look to the scene. Finally recognizing his brooding good looks, the former-prodigy/current-songwriter appeared on the cover of one of his albums. I love you, let's eat food together so you can get some meat on those bones!



Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan didn't even release an album this year, but his innocent stare will always strike me right in the blood-pumper. Put some butterfly wings on and whisper to me, Sufjan.



A-Trak (Chromeo)
When your mom asks you to bring home a nice Jewish boy, perhaps she means A-Trak, hipster extraordinaire and self-proclaimed momma's boy. He's no doctor or lawyer, but he can rock a keyboard with women's legs.



Justin Vernon (Bon Iver)
This is why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62i9Sodwp5o



Andrew Vanwyngarden (MGMT)
Hilarious and inventive, Vanwyngarden has shaggy, don't-give-a-damn looks that are so pretentiously hipster...and yet I can't resist for the very same reasons.



Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes)
I saw Fleet Foxes at the Black Cat in July. Pecknold was sporting a flannel-and-wool ensemble and drinking hot tea. In July. Thus, he's hot. Ba-dum-chhhh!

Also, most of these men get honorable mentions for weirdest names in rock.

Conor Oberst

Last week I picked up the debut solo album from Conor Oberst (the prodigy behind Bright Eyes). Since his beginning, Oberst has been called "the next Dylan," a title that seems to be slapped on every 6-string player with a knack for lyrics, an imperfect voice and an affinity for the occasional buzz on a harmonica.

On albums under his Bright Eyes moniker (for most of those LPs, Oberst was the sole permanent member. However, on the most recent release, 2007's Cassadaga, Bright Eyes officially became a trio, to include multi-instrumentalists Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott), Oberst opted for emotionally-driven alt.folk tunes that appealed to indie purists and emo kids alike. Oberst has always been included in the list of the best alt.country artists, and on this release, he defends his placement furiously. Instead of tunes about lost love and found pain, songs on Conor Oberst are more often centered around towns ("NYC- Gone, Gone") and stories ("Danny Callahan"). Each song definitely maintains the poetic element that defines Oberst's work, but the centric force driving this solo album would probably be found more easily on a dusty road in Mexico than in an empty New York City bar.

There seems to be an added level of comfort on this album than any of Oberst's Bright Eyes releases. Perhaps he is more in his element when he is solitary; perhaps he just wanted to make a safe, non-experimental album- and really, where is the harm in that?

This self-titled album is a stirring solo debut for Conor Oberst. The songs are not daring or boundary-pushing as some of his Bright Eyes material has been, but there is no doubt that they are beautiful.