MoF: Louisville. Palace. Halloween. Discuss.

[vespachick]

I know it's Halloween and you are all either at the Louisville show or are somewhere dressed and drunk, but I just got a text from Pennylane saying that the Monsters came out for the encore dressed as KISS!!!!! :D

Ha ha, just got the same text.  Can't wait to see who came out as who!  Our bet? JJ as Peter Criss.  XOXO

[bluesky]

I had a huge crush on Peter Chris when I was ten and they made that made for tv movie

[mlbrady89]

just got back to my hotel and i cant stop smiling. they did a whole set similar to the rest of the tour (highlights dear god, smoking from shooting). then after a 20 minute break the curtain rolled up to the guitar riff from Detroit Rock City with them all dressed as KISS (JJ was Gene Simmons) then they played some MoF songs and i believe a Bright eyes tune? and encored with Rock n Roll all night with some people in the best costumes on stage and zombies roaming the stage. JJ kept doing Gene Simmons esque mannerism. it was the icing on top of an awesome night. ;D

[mlbrady89]

also the event poster is crazy cool

[st. john]

Can't wait to hear how the Halloween show was! Did the monsters dress up? Sing Monster Mash? Who won the costume contest?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq2Lvp7E40U

[st. john]

just got back to my hotel and i cant stop smiling. they did a whole set similar to the rest of the tour (highlights dear god, smoking from shooting). then after a 20 minute break the curtain rolled up to the guitar riff from Detroit Rock City with them all dressed as KISS (JJ was Gene Simmons) then they played some MoF songs and i believe a Bright eyes tune? and encored with Rock n Roll all night with some people in the best costumes on stage and zombies roaming the stage. JJ kept doing Gene Simmons esque mannerism. it was the icing on top of an awesome night. ;D

so if little jimmy is now Chaim Witz, does he get his own tweed? connor takes the blanket at Montgomery Ward?

[cmccubbin25]

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091031/SCENE04/910310389/1011/SCENE/Monsters+of+Folk+pulls+out+stops+for+Halloween

There was no lack of sweetly surreal moments at Saturday night's Monsters of Folk show, from a ninja assassin swaying gently to a soft ballad to a 6-foot rabbit trying to hump Gene Simmons' leg. Maybe the band should play only Halloween gigs from now on, because everything else is surely downhill from here. Or at least a lot less colorful.

Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and the fifth Folk, Will Johnson, could have easily gotten by with their standard 21/2-hour set. But in honor of the occasion, they delivered an encore in full KISS regalia, costumes and make-up, surrounded by zombies, neon dancing robots, a Mexican wrestler and said rabbit.

They opened with "Detroit Rock City" and closed with "Rock and Roll All Nite," leaving the crowd wanting more. But the love gun was out of ammo. The boys were spent.

Another song would have been too dangerous, anyway. Oberst, as Paul Stanley, nearly broke an ankle trying to negotiate his 8-inch heels, and his rock star climb onto the drum riser looked more like a geriatric trying to get out of his Hoveround. Their point was well made, however; Monsters of Folk is a band of serious musicians who don't take themselves seriously, at least not all of the time.

There were plenty of big moments, sans grease paint.

The band was on a carousel all night, trading off instruments and songs with equal ease as they worked through material from the recent "Monsters of Folk" album and their own catalogs from Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket and Ward's string of solo albums.

Some of the MoF songs, especially "Say Please" and "Losin Yo Head," got an extra shot of rock 'n' roll dynamics while others grew more stately ("His Master's Voice").

Non-Monsters songs fit seamlessly, with the singers often teaming up to dramatic effect. James and Oberst shared a beautiful version of My Morning Jacket's "I Will Be There When You Die," for example, and a full band version of MMJ's "Smokin From Shootin" was the night's most powerful anthem.

Ward was quietly charismatic while in the spotlight, with an authority that snuck up on you. Oberst was more hit and miss, commanding on songs such as "We Are Nowhere and It Is Now" but tedious on his Dylanesque stuff; think "It's Alright Ma I'm Only on Desolation Row."

But at the end of the night the only significant problem was speculative — what if Monsters of Folk get so big that its members can't get back to their day jobs? Then again, maybe that's not such a bad problem to have.

Critic Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at (502) 582-4160.

[Janet]

Nice!

[Kris]

Jim and Conor playing "I Will Be There When You Die" was definitely a highlight.

[slappymoe]

monsters on halloween. what a show.

[TEO]

Awesome hotel, venue, show, pre-show, and post show! Met some great peeps as well, dark, flyguy, and soulshine. What a night... :)

[xmascriminal]

Long post coming:

Incredible show last night. The first two songs ("Say Please" and "The Right Place") were both great, but the first song that really took it to another level, IMO, was "Vincent O'Brien". The performance was completely stunning, FAR better than the album version. "The Sandman, The Brakeman and Me" was also an improvement on the recording, albeit in a less dramatic way. They just all seemed to be more into it last night. I've seen some great guitar players in my life, but Matt is certainly one of the best I've witnessed. He plays in a really odd, fascinating, brilliant way. I loved his little solos in the songs he did by himself. Also, "One Life Away" was a complete surprise for me as I haven't seen it on any of the setlists. Considering my love of Transistor Radio, it was a very good choice.

I went to this show a fan of Connor's MoF songs but still a little wary of his other output. With his first song, "Soul Singer in a Session Band" he convinced me to become a fan.  Throughout the rest of the night everything he did impressed me. Their performance of "At the Bottom of Everything" was one of the highlights of the night, as was the version of "Smoke Without Fire", which was done as a duet with Matt.   Great stuff. During the intermission, while the guys changed into their Kiss gear, I went and bought Lifted, I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and Cassadaga and enjoyed listening to them on the ride back. I think I'm going to have to buy everything now.

Of course, Jim's stuff was my favorite. Seeing as it was Louisville, it seemed like he was the favorite of the crowd too. His songs were flat out beautiful. I loved hearing "Bermuda Highway" again, and Will did a nice job backing him up on it. "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" was great to hear for the first time. Some people have been complaining about Connor's singing on "Smokin' From Shootin'" and "I Will Be There When You Die", but, while it didn't especially enhance the songs, I definitely didn't have a problem with it. Also, "Dear God" was another that was better than the album version. The jamming on that was unreal. Probably the thing that impressed me the most was the way that he complimented the other band member's songs. Throughout the whole night, he just kept making these incredible noises that I had no idea a human being could produce. It was absurd how perfect his vocals were. I was surprised to see the set end with "His Master's Voice", because it made me wonder what they'd close the show with. . .  

The encore was a blast. When the curtain first came up, I couldn't believe it. To me, it was especially hilarious to see Matt dressed that way for some reason, though Connor and Jim's antics were great. They skipped At Dawn, probably to keep the energy up, and played an awesome version of "Losin' Yo Head" for Jim's song instead. And then, it was "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night" with at least twenty-something people up there in various costumes dancing. It was a very surreal ending to an absurdly good show.

Anybody get a full setlist? I know most of the songs that were played, but not in order. Anyway, for those who want to know:

MOF: Everything except Slow Down Jo, Ahead of the Curve and Magic Marker.

Jim: Golden, Smokin' From Shootin' (Full Band w/ Connor on the 3rd verse), Wonderful (The Way I Feel) (w/ Matt), Look at You (Solo), I Will Be There When You Die (w/ Connor), Bermuda Highway (w/ Will)

Connor: The Big Picture (w/ Mike), Lime Tree (w/ Jim), Smoke Without Fire (w/ Matt), We Are Nowhere and It's Now (w/ Mike), At the Bottom of Everything (w/ everyone taking a verse), Hit the Switch, Another Travelin' Song

Matt: Vincent O'Brien, One Life Away (w/ Jim), Lullaby + Exile (w/ Connor), Chinese Translation (Solo), One Hundred Million Years (Solo), To Save Me

Plus Detroit Rock City and I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night.  ;D

[jones]

Awesome hotel, venue, show, pre-show, and post show! Met some great peeps as well, dark, flyguy, and soulshine. What a night... :)

It was great to meet you all; Dylan, thanks for the dessert!  Sorry that I disappeared into the night at Bearno's, but that's kind of my standard exit...

[MOFing]

I was at this show and it was amazing.  Wondering if anyone had the complete set list?

[ScreamingDizBuster]

Did anyone else spot Patrick Hallahan dressed as a pig (H1 or maybe N1 since he was one of the pair).  We saw him visit the light board guy.  Awesome concert.  I hope he saw the MMJ tunes being played and got the itch to get back on the road.

[bluesky]

Thanks for the brian wilson, awesome....can anyone post photos? I am sure everyone is still coming down from what sounds like such an amazing show last night. Can't wait for next weekend here in NYC!

Can't wait to hear how the Halloween show was! Did the monsters dress up? Sing Monster Mash? Who won the costume contest?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq2Lvp7E40U

[bearass]

show was badass m ward blew mw away

[goose]

A few of my pics.  I was fortunate.  They took a bunch of cameras from people during the show.

Conor Singing all dressed up.


THE MOF!!


THE MOF Cont.

[goose]

Conor goes up


Conor falls down!


He was still great though!

[goose]

JJ aka YY


He kept throwing up the bat wings, and the crowd would go nuts!


He rocked it out like a Jacket show!