Don't Wake the Scarecrow

Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut has an illustrious history and rightfully so, considering the bands who have passed through this small venue. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, U2, Billy Joel….the list of artists goes on and on. One of the newest groups to join the list of bands that have played Toad’s is Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The former Bright Eyes front man led his new group of 6 to an energetic and engaging night of music on the night of July 3rd, 2009.

All of the expectations I had going into the show were greatly exceeded, as Conor and the MVB played tracks from their two albums. It’s always nice to see a band that takes a recorded piece of work and turn it into something even better at live shows. Songs like “Cape Canaveral” and “Souled Out” were given unique twists, with “Cape” receiving an extended finger-picking jam from guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth (click here for video).

Being from Alabama, it’s hard not to notice Taylor’s twangy voice that fills the air during the songs “Air Mattress” and the spectacular “Snake Hill”. I was blown away by his guitar playing so much that when looking for some non MVB material online I was pleased to find that he’s been playing “Snake Hill” for years at solo performances. When it came time to record Outer South, the band’s second album, Conor was looking to his bandmates to see what kinds of songs they’ve written and I’m glad that Taylor chose to include “Snake Hill” in his submissions. It’s a memorable song that finds the narrator discussing life away from his home and why his mother warned him against leaving his place of origin (click here to see a solo performance of Snake Hill).

Conor was center stage for most of the show, taking some time to saunter over to other band members during certain songs. It seemed to increase the energy in the room each time he would be pushing his band members to rock harder. There was a small amount of stage banter, but tonight was mostly about the music. The tightly packed crowd enjoyed the fast and slow songs alike….with one standout being “Lenders In the Temple” that featured just Conor and Nate Walcott on stage, with Nate adding an ominous melody on the organ (click here for video). It was easy to see the chemistry between the two artists who have played together for years in the band Bright Eyes.

The night was capped off with a powerful version of “I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)” that brought the two opening acts to the stage to join in the craziness. The band stretched this one out for a while with Conor doing a little bit of talking and interacting with the different people on stage. Overall, my first show at Toad’s was extremely memorable. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band have created two amazing albums and perform at their shows the way you expect good musicians to – by playing from their heart.

Click here to see photos from this show.
Click here to see videos from this show.