Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, Mystic Valley Band etc.

[SaraBananaBear]

i am about to leave for atlanta for the show tonight.! if you get a chance and are interested look on youtube at the miami and orlando shows from past couple of nights. they have a new stage design and light show that they didn't take with them to europe and it is awesome! quite a nice surprise. i think the show tonight is gonna be great!

Oh cool, I will definitely check youtube for that and looking forward to a review from you when you come back!  Have lots of fun! :D

[SaraBananaBear]

I'm turning into Mr Negative I guess - don't mean to! - just posted my comments on the disappointing Middle Brother album also...

After many listens of the new Bright Eyes, at least 15 times I'd say start to finish, I've reached the conclusion it's IMO a pretty weak album.   The songs have not grown on me and the whole spoken word / studio trickery / effects wears thin on me.   The songs just aren't that great.

So I went surfing for reviews to see how it's being received.   Wow, a lot of negative reviews.   This one (D+) sums up my feelings pretty well and is fair without just being a slamfest

http://www.redefinemag.com/music/reviews_album_2.php?artist=Bright-Eyes&id=2299


Again, I'm not trying to bash here- nothing against Bright Eyes - went into this with an open mind after being impressed by MOF...

As this is the only band I hold as dear or possibly even slightly more dear than My Morning Jacket I will now turn into miss Positive! ;) I actually think there's been quite a few positive reviews, more than I even expected since reviewers love to compare everything Conor does to I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (or sometimes Lifted) and somehow they never think it measures up (which just seems crazy to me). The review you posted doesn't really say much about the actual music, which isn't all that uncommon, even the review I tried to write suffers from the same problem.

Either way, I understand if you don't like the spoken words, I find the rhythm of quite nice, especially the "people freak out, just flat flip out" part. But I can't agree that the songs lack space, or maybe rather my opinion is that even though some of them contain a lot of different instruments, it never takes away from the beauty of each song.

I find this review much more accurate:

It is like a Greatest Hits album, where he's reworked and collaged everything we've loved (and others have absolutely hated) about him over the past fifteen or more years - the world-weary rush of frustrated energy, the Elvis-ish Dylanisms, the over-emoted troubles of the soul, the quest for bottled innocence and the inner war with spirituality. There's the production suss of Lifted... and Digital Ash (which at times sort of hints that Conor and Mike Mogis might go the way of Trent Reznor and end up making some incredible soundtracks), the Scientology-baiting hippy-dippiness of Cassadaga, trembling pianos, tumbling double kick-drums, and the cut up De La Soul-esque samples canoodling with the cartoon-angst of Fevers & Mirrors. The whole thing feels soaked in the heart-breaking honesty of his career-defining opus I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning but with shimmers of everything else he's done humming beneath and above the surface of it. There's even a bunch of rattling drum-rolls and yelps that wouldn't be out of place on a second Desaparacidos record. And, that's not to mention the lyrics about stuff like snuff films on gumbo-trons, which feature on 'Beginner's Mind' which could possibly be his first radio hit or at the very least one of his finest songs, with a universal appeal.

From: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141839-guide-to-2011-part-2--albums-dis-is-looking-forward-to-in-2011

How about trying the more stripped down live versions: http://thesteamengine.blogspot.com/2011/02/download-bright-eyes-2011-10-02-bbc6.html :)

[e_wind]

I didn't even know he added more tour dates, but BE will be here in Louisville the day before I leave for Bonnaroo. A nice little bonnaroo pre-game.

[SaraBananaBear]

I didn't even know he added more tour dates, but BE will be here in Louisville the day before I leave for Bonnaroo. A nice little bonnaroo pre-game.

Woop, woop, sounds great! :) I just saw that M. Ward will join them on the Philadelphia and Washington shows as well... too bad he didn't come to Sweden as well, that would have been so nice :)

[ChronicHunger]

I know alot of people didnt really like cassadaga but this song is great.....Bright Eyes- Lime Tree

[SaraBananaBear]

I love Cassadaga and that is a great song indeed! Such a sad topic, beautifully phrased as always, ♥ Bright Eyes. In Spotify they incorrectly put Smoke Without Fire as the 14th track, but I quite like that, since Lime Tree is so very sad, it's nice to let Smoke Without Fire be the final song instead.

[woodnymph]

Whoa!  Flash time warp:::  I'm finally listening to this album, via the same site that is currently streaming Thievery Corporation's new album.

I remember reading the interview (maybe in RS) where Conor explains about the guy who's behind all of the spoken word... sounds like an interesting dude!  I too may not have it in me to always listen to the intro talk, but I reaaaallly like the pieces Conor decided to stick throughout the album.

So far the stickiest song for me has been "One For You, One For Me."  And I like the spoken bit at the end  8)  Excited to finally be giving this a spin!  A lot to grasp for sure, as several people have mentioned, but I like hearing different things with each spin, until I eventually get the words down.  And I like deciphering the lyrics and connecting dots of information, etc...

Took me long enough to give it a go!  :P

[SaraBananaBear]

Whoa!  Flash time warp:::  I'm finally listening to this album, via the same site that is currently streaming Thievery Corporation's new album.

I remember reading the interview (maybe in RS) where Conor explains about the guy who's behind all of the spoken word... sounds like an interesting dude!  I too may not have it in me to always listen to the intro talk, but I reaaaallly like the pieces Conor decided to stick throughout the album.

So far the stickiest song for me has been "One For You, One For Me."  And I like the spoken bit at the end  8)  Excited to finally be giving this a spin!  A lot to grasp for sure, as several people have mentioned, but I like hearing different things with each spin, until I eventually get the words down.  And I like deciphering the lyrics and connecting dots of information, etc...

Took me long enough to give it a go!  :P

Sounds goodie! One For You, One For Me is definitely my favorite off the new album to hear live, I like how they usually end the show with it and how it just kind of sums up all the feeling you've felt during the concert in one long musical embrace. ♥ 

[SaraBananaBear]

Some Conor news, so exciting! 

Q: Earlier this year, you released a single, "MariKKKopa," and toured with your political punk-rock band Desaparecidos, with whom you hadn't put out an album for a decade. Is there more to come?

A: They haven't announced it yet, but we are going to do some more shows, and put out more music next year.

Q: What's happening next?

A: My main thing is just to keep writing. I've been doing some songwriting that's for my own record, I suppose. That'll happen next year, probably under my own name.

Q: There have been a lot of reports suggesting you've retired Bright Eyes. True?

A: No. I love playing with Mike and Nate. Hopefully, we'll do that sometime in the near future. . . . They both worked on a movie called Writers that I wrote a song for that will be out next year.

(via this article)

[MrWhippy]

I saw Conor last night in DC and it was freaking brilliant.  Mostly a solo show though on some songs he one of the Bright Eyes guys play keyboards and some trumpet.

He played a few new songs, which were all great, and then great picks of older stuff.  I was particularly excited to hear The Big Picture, Waste of Paint, At The Bottom of Everything, Lua, Land Locked Blues, and First Day of My Life. 

Really rekindled my love for Conor after being very disappointed by Bright Eyes on the last tour.

[e_wind]

Anyone hear the new Desaparecidos tracks? I'm into em...

http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/02/new-music-desaparecidos-the-left-is-right-and-anonymous/

[brkndwnbus]

I really like the two new songs. I'm seeing Desaparecidos next weekend in DC. It should be a great time.

[e_wind]

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/11/310087950/first-listen-conor-oberst-upside-down-mountain?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nprmusic&utm_term=music&utm_content=20140511

New record is streaming. It's good.

[dookie shoot bandit]

Woke up to pre order downloaded...
Great way to start a shitty Monday!!!
Sounds great 

[itrainmonkeys]

Will be catching the Dawes/Conor show this Thursday on Long Island. Can't wait. Will likely pick up the vinyl of the new album at the show.


Edit: Hmmm....maybe not:

Due to manufacturing delays, vinyl pressings for Upside Down Mountain will not be available until around the end of May.

Nonesuch hopes to start shipping the vinyl on May 23.


Oh well.

[EverythingChanges]

I'm enjoying the album so far. 

[oistheone]

I've never been a MEGA Oberst fan, but I am definitely a huge fan of his songwriting, and challenge anyone to find a better lyricist. The guy is a poet whose skills with the pen are lightyears away from any of his peers. While I sometimes find his vocal delivery style a little grating, I am a huge fan of Jonathan Wilson's work as a producer, so I went into this release with pretty high expectations. While I wouldn't say those expectations have been surpassed, I'm definitely enjoying this record. The highpoints here are as high as any of my favorite songs written by Oberst. "Double Life" is my clear-cut favorite so far, just love that concept for a song, and those are some breathtaking harmonies in the chorus. "Enola Gay", "Hundreds of Ways" and "Time Forgot" are just great too. What a pleasant record. Definitely worth tracking down!

[bartel]

enjoying the new album.. I like dawes as a backing band I think they suit conors music very well.

[Ghosts_on_TV]

enjoying the new album.. I like dawes as a backing band I think they suit conors music very well.

I'm not sure if you meant it like this, but they aren't the band that plays on the album.

[Ghosts_on_TV]

Also, was at the show in Pittsburgh on Sunday, and the new vinyl wasn't there. Show was great.