Yeah, I liked the A Christmas Album from last year, with Maria Taylor joining Conor Oberst and the rest of Bright Eyes on a lovely “Have Yourself A Mery Little Christmas” I have been planning to add to an “A Plus Merry Christmas” this December since I heard it.
But… Conor has not had a great coupla years. The Summerstage gig at the end of July was not bad but not great (read it here) and didn’t sell out, Upside Down Mountain, hurt by a rape accusation retracted way too late, and hurt by an iffy album, tanked. The Carnegie Hall gig sucked, The People’s Key was Bright Eye’s worst album ever, the Radio City Music Hall gig found the band getting spanked by Wild Flag, Monsters Of Folk were awful at United Palace… you get the concept.
So why go again for “A Benefit Concert Holiday Cheer For FUV Conor Oberst And Friends” at the Beacon Theater on December 8th? I mean, over and above Conor having proven his abilities with a carol? I just have a lotta time for Conor, he has been too good for so long his being so bad for so long, and how bad, right? There are always songs worth hearing, plus the catalog, plus… what price loyalty? When all that stuff was swirling round, the rape accusation, only Mary Rudzis and I went on the record, numerous times, writing pretty extensively, that we didn’t believe a word. And while his super fans stabbed him in the back, we sure didn’t.
So yeah, one more time, right? Conor at the Beacon December 8th, that’s all…
