Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ First Avenue

Conor Oberst brought his Mystic Valley Band back to First Avenue Wednesday night, less than a year after the band’s last raucous performance there, and played another high spirited, festive show that proved this Mystic Valley Band is certainly a bona fide group and not merely a diversion or side-project for Oberst. The six of them have reached a comfort level with each other that only strengthens their music and their live show. And while the songs at times aren’t nearly as strong as Oberst’s Bright Eyes material, he’s clearly more comfortable on stage now and obviously having a great time playing these tracks with his good friends, and that affinity was quite evident during the band’s rollicking 110 minute performance and their easy on-stage camaraderie (not to mention the unifying trucker hats that half of the band wore during the set).

The band is touring behind the recently released Outer South, the first official release with the MVB in the title, but technically the group’s second release (since they all played on Oberst’s self-titled release last year), and the set drew nearly exclusively from those two albums. The band wasted no time in ratcheting up the energy level, tearing into the propulsive “NYC-Gone, Gone” as soon as the screen was raised. And, after Oberst exclaimed, “God damn it’s good to be back here. This is one of our favorite spots.” they kept the momentum going with a feisty version of “Souled Out!!!” that really showed not only how familiar the band is with each other and their older material, but how technically skilled they all are on their instruments, trading off on solos and fills effortlessly. I did find it interesting that the band played four straight songs from the Conor Oberst record to start off the show, continuing on with an amped-up version (how could it not be with three guitarists) of “Sausalito” and an energetic rendition of “Get-Well Cards” that turned into a crowd sing-along. But after Conor introduced the next song by saying “This is about temptations of the flesh,” we got the first new song of the set, with an excellent version of “Ten Women” that found the rest of the band enthusiastically singing backup to Oberst’s passionate vocals.

The band really hit their stride on the next string of songs, “Slowly (Oh So Slowly),” “Danny Callahan” and “Nikorette” were all highly spirited, boisterous performances that exemplified just how comfortable the band was not only with each other but with the material as well, with Oberst often leaning on his band mates both for leverage (usually bassist Macey Taylor) and trying to goad them on to a faster beat. Throughout the set it was clear that not only was Oberst happy playing with these musicians, but he was truly happy to be back in Minneapolis, a place where he’s played many fantastic shows, and a city that he’s referred to in the past as a second home. Oberst dedicated a stellar version of “Cape Canaveral” to Kurt Vonegut, “one of my best friends ever. Even though I never got a chance to meet him before he died.” The band seemed to step back a bit and let Oberst lead the way on this touching track, giving his brilliant lyrics the proper focus they deserve.

Every time I’ve seen Oberst, he’s always dedicated a track to his manager Bill Sullivan (whose family owns the 400 Bar), and tonight was no exception, as he dedicated an explosive version of “Moab” to Sullivan, whom Oberst claims “saved my life more times than I can count.” After some technical problems before “Air Mattress,” Oberst gladly stepped aside to let guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth sing lead, and as Oberst bounced around the stage it was clear he was truly enjoying having the spotlight turned off him for a bit, completely contented with singing backing vocals for a change. And, after the relative silliness that is at the heart of “Air Mattress,” the rest of the band cleared off the stage, leaving just Nate Walcott on the keyboards to accompany Oberst and his acoustic guitar on a stunning version of “Lenders In The Temple” that was one of the definite highlights of the set, giving the crowd a glimpse at how stirring Conor can be with just a guitar and his lyrics. The rest of the band immediately came back on stage and Oberst again stepped aside to let guitarist Nick Freitas sing lead on a rowdy rendition of “Big Black Nothing,” that really showed the strength of the band as a whole, with everyone chipping in backing vocals, solos and smiles as they all clearly we’re having fun up there. And they kept that enthusiasm up during the lengthy set closer “I Got The Reason” that started out as a quiet, Oberst-led acoustic song before turning into a boisterous group sing-along that was truly fun to watch.

After an prolonged amount of applause, Oberst emerged solo for the first song of the encore. I was hoping for the heart-achingly beautiful “White Shoes” from the new record, and was pleased when, after he asked the stage lights to be turned to purple, he began strumming the familiar chords of my favorite song from Outer South. It was absolutely gorgeous, with Oberst handling the melody and the light percussion of the track solely on his acoustic guitar, and guiding the song tenderly along with his astute and penetrating lyrics. It made clear that whenever Oberst decides to return to delivering these types of solo performances, without the support of the Mystic Valley Band, the results will be breathtaking. The band joined him to flesh out the ending of the wonderful track, and wasted no time before kicking into “Eagle On A Pole” that found drummer Jason Boesel on lead vocals and the rest of the band bouncing energetically around the stage. Conor introduced the next track by saying “We’re going to play a song by one of our musical heroes, John Prine” before the band played a rousing version of “Wedding Day In Funeralville” that featured Oberst emphatically spitting out the lyrics (he was spitting all over the stage all night long, more than usual). It was a great cover that the band nailed. The set closed with an enthusiastic and passionate version of “I Don’t Want To Die (In A Hospital) that Oberst prolonged a bit with band introductions and declaring that he’d “rather die in a plane crash or having a burglar break into his home and shoot him in the head” as opposed to dying in a hospital, pleading with the crowd to pull the plug on him if he was ever on life support. It all sounds more melancholy than it actually was, and the band truly closed out their spirited set on an absolute high.

So, while the set stayed somewhat similar to the last time Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band played First Avenue (again, no Bright Eyes songs), the band has become tighter and more familiar with each other and their material through incessant touring and recording together, and that level of closeness strengthened the songs and their performance throughout their rousing set. Oberst felt extremely comfortable with not only his band but the city he was in, delivering another stirring performance for his Minneapolis brethren that never tire of seeing him perform. And, with these kinds of captivating performance, why would we?

[Review by Erik Thompson, photos by guest contributor Brenda Paro.]

Setlist:

NYC-Gone, Gone
Souled Out!!!
Sausalito
Get-Well Cards
Ten Women
Slowly (Oh So Slowly)
Danny Callahan
Nikorette
Cape Canaveral
Spoiled
Moab
Air Mattress
Lenders In The Temple
Big Black Nothing
I Got The Reason
White Shoes (encore)
Eagle On A Pole (encore)
Wedding Day In Funeralville (John Prine cover) (encore)
I Don’t Want To Die (In A Hospital) (encore)

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Also: Bright Eyes “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” (Best of the Decade)