Concert Review: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

July 2 at the Bearsville Theater

by Erica Paige Schumacher, July 06, 2009

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band took to the stage at the intimate Bearsville Theater in Woodstock to a sold out crowd so tightly knit, it felt like the audience was ebbing and flowing on some Extra Terrestrial spaceship that had just landed for the sole purpose of reminding humanity to witness all of its multiplicity and forms before it vanished into some complex, ethereal vapor. Oberst sings of this existential vortex on his new albums, Conor Oberst and Outer South, (2008, 2009/Merge Records), where he and the extremely talented Mystic Valley Band are only eighteen tour dates short of finishing their crazy American domestic quest, exploring themes of nihilistically religious love, American exile, economic torpor, and modern political delusion.

The two albums range in style and emotional complexity – but they both draw from Oberst’s well known spare and emotionally exquisite lyrics. (One could teach Oberst’s “songs” in a poetry class, and students would never be bored by the heavy guitars combined with symbolic titles like “To All the Lights in the Windows.”)  On both albums, Oberst’s hard core/folk protest tradition is mixed with alt/country and some more mainstream but rhapsodically edgy and twangy summer rock songs like “Nikorette” and “Danny Callahan.”

Oberst and his cadre of gifted musical brothers proved there really is no one genre that can contain the forces of nature. Tickets were a mere $22 making the Indie show accessible to all, proving that Oberst is quite serious about bringing his band’s talents to those who are simply intelligent and passionate about music, without the high price tag of commercial vipers.

The Mystic Valley Band is comprised of a group of superb musicians, some are regulars associated with Oberst’s critically acclaimed Bright Eyes touring band (Nate Walcott, keyboard/piano/organ, Jason Boesel, drums, Nik Freitas, guitar, and Conor Oberst himself), with the added beastly talents of Macey Taylor (bass) and Taylor Hollingsworth (electric/acoustic guitar and slide).