Roseland Theater Portland, Oregon

Western Red · Oct 21, 2004, 01:33 PM

My friends and I saw the Monsters of Folk on Saturday October 16th and were treated to some amazing music. M. Ward has excellent guitar playing skills and a Bob Dylanesque vocal delivery that was mesmerizing. Jim definitely stole the show though. He ripped through a bunch of tunes from It Still Moves and Tennessee Fire. As far as I am concerned he blew Connor away. Maybe I'm too old or not depressed enough but I found Connor to be irritating and full of himself. If I was to show up I would have guessed him to be anything but the headliner. I tried to by a good Kentucky Bourbon at the upstairs bar and the closest I could get was Crown Royal. Silly Northwesterners... Crown is for Canucks!

samlove · Oct 21, 2004, 03:39 PM

I didnt expect Jim James to be so friendly, I met him after the show and he was the only one to come out and say hi to the fans.

I seem to like Jim James more when he plays by himself then when he plays with the band.

dogandponyshow · Oct 22, 2004, 03:10 PM

I was at the show as well. Maybe a touch to much collaboration. Jimmy was clearly the best which I certainly expected.

D.

wiredforsound · Oct 22, 2004, 07:33 PM

Hey, I was at the Portland show as well. Really enjoyed Jim and M Ward, and Conor was OK too.

For those of you who were at the show, do you recall what Jim's first song was? It was Jim and M Ward playing together, with Jim on vocals. For some reason I thought I heard the word "gypsy" in the lyrics. Anybody have a setlist for the show?

Also, what was up with the woman that was dangling feet-first over the balcony railing? It looked like security had a hard time throwing her out!!!

samlove · Oct 23, 2004, 01:17 AM

If i remember correctly the first was a Bob Dylan Cover.

MMJ_fanatic · Oct 28, 2004, 06:55 PM

QuoteI didnt expect Jim James to be so friendly, I met him after the show and he was the only one to come out and say hi to the fans.

there is a definite pattern with these collaboration shows--Jim socializes more than the others. I got Lucky at the Hartford MMJ show in that I was able to accidently meet M Ward outside the venue as he was scurrying back in. A super nice dude if you ever get to talk to him but also very shy (by all appearances anyway ;))

wiredforsound · Nov 01, 2004, 08:04 PM

Brief Portland concert review from the 10/27/04 Willamette Week:
http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5645

Bright Eyes, Jim James and M. Ward, Roseland Theater, Oct. 16

After snoozing through some of the newer Bright Eyes material in the middle of the Omaha neo-folkie's set, the studded-belt-clad, Robert Smith-coiffed Roseland crowd was rejuvenated by two things; a jolting version of the Bright Eyes classic "Waste of Paint" and a girl attempting to throw herself from the balcony. While most of the crowd was there to worship Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, he was actually the show's weakest link, failing to live up to M. Ward's mind-boggling acoustic guitar skills or Jim James' uncanny transformation into Willie Nelson for "You Were Always on My Mind." The collection of hipsters were a curious sight at what was essentially a folk show (James half-jokingly named the collective "Monsters of Folk"), but the artists managed on this night to transcend genre. (Amy McCullough)

texasag03 · Dec 19, 2004, 09:13 PM

i noticed that you mentioned that mmj sang always on my mind at the oregan show is there anywhere were i can get or buy or download that???? i am desperatly searching to find that or at least hear it? any info on that subject would be great thanks!!!!! so much ;D

peanut butter puddin surprise · Dec 20, 2004, 11:27 AM

Quotei noticed that you mentioned that mmj sang always on my mind at the oregan show is there anywhere were i can get or buy or download that???? i am desperatly searching to find that or at least hear it? any info on that subject would be great thanks!!!!! so much ;D

wow, any tapers out there that got any of these shows? c'mon, we can put er up on the FTP server!

whothrewthecake · Dec 20, 2004, 11:41 AM

i ran across the web site that has the song you are looking for.

http://www.kickstandmusic.com/web/sounds.html

it sounds really good!!!

MMJ_fanatic · Dec 20, 2004, 04:26 PM

Quote
I seem to like Jim James more when he plays by himself then when he plays with the band.

hmmm :-/ perplexing observation here--can't say I'd ever considered that but my gut tells me I'd be traumatized by that shift in structure

texasag03 · Dec 20, 2004, 09:57 PM

Thanks so much for giving me that website to listen to always on my mind!!! You have made my day as well as several mmj fans!!! thanks a billion i really appreciate it! ;D

EC · Dec 20, 2004, 10:35 PM

Woah.

Does anyone else get really sad when you hear some of Jim's solo live stuff? I actually have tears in my eyes right now.

Shake it off, shake it off.

(He says "love" like "luwv".) :)

dogandponyshow · Dec 21, 2004, 03:22 PM

He no doubt has that ability....don't know if it is good or bad.

D.

EC · Dec 21, 2004, 04:16 PM

Well, I think it's good. I think it means that he's into the song enough to actually be meaning the words (which a lot of singers don't - they're more focused on sounding good, but the joke's on them, because when you're into it, the sound becomes something other than just notes in your ears). But there's something about his voice that just - maybe it isn't that I get sad. Maybe there's so much feeling behind him singing that I just get a heavy dose of "feelings", and they come out that way, instead of, I don't know, laughing hysterically or something...

But I'm a girl, and we generally cry more. Except that I'll bet you all of my favourite cds that Celine Dion couldn't make me cry. (Not to put down Celine, but I get the vibe that she's the kind of singer who cares more about her "sound" than what's behind her songs. I could be wrong.)

MMJ_fanatic · Dec 21, 2004, 05:16 PM

his voice never fails to make all the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and raise gooseflesh down my back--I love it!

whothrewthecake · Dec 22, 2004, 11:16 AM

EC, i'm with you on the tears. i saw the bright eyes/jim/m.ward thing here in austin in this old theater we have that is small and intimate but lovely. for his part, jim asked to have no spotlight, so it was dark on stage and his voice just shot through everyone. i was wellin' up for sure. especially on THE BEAR. damn.

dogandponyshow · Dec 22, 2004, 01:30 PM

Oh yeah EC...of course it is good. I was trying to be a bit sarcastic and did a lousy job. It is the emotion that makes it work and maybe his voice a little but probably a lot.

D.

EC · Dec 22, 2004, 03:11 PM

I heard ya dogandponyshow. You don't have to feel ashamed for crying. ;)

(ah ha ha, at first I wrote "I head ya", and that changed the post entirely. Whoops!)

MMJ_fanatic · Dec 22, 2004, 07:01 PM

I'm with you on The Bear--it has fast become my new heavy rotation MMJ tune :)