0 Monsters of Folk @ Paramount Theater

Oct. 16th, 2009 - Monsters of Folk @ Paramount Theater

Looking classy in pricey suits and ties, the “supergroup” consisting of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, a clean cut Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and M. Ward visited Seattle’s Paramount Theater last Thursday on the third stop of their first ever tour under the tongue-in-check moniker Monsters of Folk. This tour is in support of the Monsters’ self-titled debut released last month, which features 15 solid but extremely mellow folk rock tunes. Going into the show I knew two things were for sure—one being the show would be lengthy at around two and half hours long, and two, the members of the band would also treat the audience to various selections from their more known projects.

Actually, the show ended up hovering right around 3 hours, which was great except for what felt like an extra hour of filler. I waited the entire show for them to break loose and jam out a little bit. I think I counted around three times where I was teased to the point of agony. Anytime the band picked up tempo and showed signs of life, they would soon bring the show to a crashing halt and revert back to any number of melancholy tracks off the MOF record. I know I know- I shouldn’t complain because I knew full well going into the show that a large portion of the Monster of Folk penned songs are extremely mellow, but that’s all the more reason to rock out a bit in concert, right? Anyways, there are indeed some well written songs in the MOF’s song book that sounded awesome live. Oberst, James, and Ward traded vocal, bass, and guitar duties throughout the night on highlights such as “The Right Place”, “Goodway”, “Ahead of the Curve” and upbeat single, “Say Please”. Mike Mogis stuck to switching between guitar, pedal steel, and mandolin, while touring drummer Will Johnson held it down behind the kit, and on various percussion instruments.

The Monsters surely got their biggest response when they held to their word and worked in a few songs from their respective day jobs. Each got their moment in the spotlight and delighted the crowd with some very nice, but stripped down versions of their own tunes. Ward had the first go at it and really impressed with his endless talent as an amazing finger picker on “Sad, Sad Song “ from his record “Transfiguration of Vincent”, and during the encore he did his best Jerry Lee Lewis stand up and rock the piano impression on “To Save Me” from his most recent release “Hold Time”. I can’t say enough about M. Ward. This was my first time seeing him perform live, and he is certainly the real deal in more ways than one.

Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes’ fame got down on ”Soul Singer for a Session Band” from Cassadaga, as well as “Another Travelin’ Song” and “We Are Nowhere and It’s Now” from I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. On “Nowhere”, multi-instrumentalist madman Mike Mogis displayed some killer chops on the mandolin.

The biggest name in the room was surely Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and he never ceased to amaze while hitting those unbelievable high notes. When the MMJ tunes came the crowd awoke. Prior to that time you could hear a pin drop in the half empty Paramount Theater. Yes, even with the big names on stage, Monsters of Folk failed to sell tickets. I’m thinking it may have been due to the $50 ticket price, and ridiculously crappy economy but that’s just a guess. None the less, the My Morning Jacket tunes scattered throughout the set were a highlight. Beautiful renditions of “Look at You”, and “Golden” found their way onto the setlist as well as a splendid duet between Ward and James on “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)”. “Smokin' from Shootin'” from last year’s “Evil Urges” sounded amazing, and made for one of the few truly electric moments of the evening. The song crescendoed into the full on folk rock jam session that I was hoping for all night as James wailed on his guitar, and Oberst jumped up on the drum riser; the moment though brief, made the wait worthwhile.

At the 2 ½ hour mark the band left the stage only to come back for another half hour of music, finally ending the night with “His Master’s Voice”, which also happens to be the closing track on the record as well. The band was gracious and thanked the audience for sticking out through the highs and lulls of the extended folk heavy set. Overall, it was a fine show and had its moments of glory, but they were few and far between unfortunately. I think if the band tightened up its set, they would be on to something a little easier to swallow for the short attention span people in the room. Check out my videos. Cheers!