It was finally Conor Oberst’s turn to get up on stage and perform. A couple minutes before nine, you could sense a shift in the room. As the clock struck nine, Oberst came and sat in a chair.Originally, I had anticipated just breaking out into tears the moment I saw his face. Instead, I was starstruck, emotionless. I’d no idea how to react; there was a stark silence that was full of hope and anticipation. I leaned forward in my chair, wide-eyed and sweaty-palmed.
He opened up with “The Big Picture”. As he ripped into it, he was looking strictly at the ground and his guitar. The first words that came out of his mouth were the lyrics “The picture’s far too big to look at, kid. Your eyes won’t open wide enough. And you’re constantly surrounded by that swirling stream of what is and what was.” Not a single soul dared to sing along. The only time that the crowd had the audacity to make a peep was to join Oberst in the lines “So I mean it’s cool if you keep quiet, but I like singing.” This was full of passion, “WOO’s” exuding from the more intoxicated members of the crowd.
I secretly hated the drunkards more and more with every obnoxious comment they made. I didn’t mind the “THANK YOUs” or the “YOU SAVED MEs”, but all of the ridiculous groupies who wanted to get with him? I wish they would’ve kindly shut the hell up.
As much as I love Conor, just the same with any other musician, I was slightly offended by him. Of course this will happen in any situation, but Oberst said, “This next song, I wish we were playing it in a church…’cause it’s blasphemous…and that turns me on…,” and he went into a gorgeous rendition of “Lenders in the Temple”. Of course, this was returned with approval from the atheists or what have you in the crowd, but it didn’t sit too well with me. I got over it. With just a guitar and xylophone, and the vocals, I got goosebumps. The tune has always stuck with me because of how perfect the composition of it is, but I never loved it more than when I heard it come straight from the man.
The first tear I shed (which was followed by many, many others) was when Conor got up and went to the piano. As soon as I heard the opening note, I lost it. “Ladder Song” off The People’s Key is a tune that reminds me of my grandmother. I didn’t know going in if I wanted to ever hear it live because of how much it affects me, but I couldn’t do anything about it once he started. I sat there, gently shaking and smiling and mouthing along. His piano skills were haunting, simplistic but complimentary. His vocals were stronger than on the recording. The entire song is a blur; it just put me in a place where I felt comfortable enough to cry. Until the song was over, I didn’t even notice the tears drying on my face. I clapped so hard my hands hurt, and I was the last one clapping, too. I didn’t care.
To pull me out of that sadness, he went into “At the Bottom of Everything”, which was just a big sing-along. We were all bopping along and bouncing in our seats, happy to be uplifted and you could even see the shift in Conor himself. He was having fun and it was so lighthearted and joyous.
This was followed by “You Are Your Mother’s Child”. I just absolutely lost it here. I couldn’t hold back. It not only reminded me of how close my mother and I are, but it then made me think about who’s lost a mom. I think this struck a chord with quite a few audience members. His voice was echoing, and carried through the theatre. It was eerie and gave me chills. It didn’t feel the same way as any recording; it was one of those things that you don’t get the feel of until you’re really there. I was humming along, and I had a new appreciation for the beautiful guitar part of the song. It was so flawlessly played and gentle, but was prominent and beautiful. As a whole, this song was so powerful.
At the end of his set (he finished with “Breezy”), he had a standing ovation. He humbly bowed and thanked us and walked off stage. A minute went by, and everyone was standing. Five minutes went by, and the clapping still hadn’t ceased. Finally, at long last, Oberst came back on.
The first encore tune was “An Attempt to Tip the Scales”,which I wasn’t sure if I was going to like live, but it was brilliantly done. Stripped down and bare, it made you focus on the words. As for “Lua”,that was another big sing along. I think Conor kinda makes light of the tune now that it’s so overplayed and ‘mainstream’,but in a group sing-along setting, it was just as powerful as the first time I ever heard it. I nearly teared up.
His ending song was “Waste of Paint”, and with the first chord he played, the crowd roared. This was the tune a lot of us were waiting for. I was fixated on Conor, and here I realized we were all still standing from the end of his set. This I easily forgot once the first line was sung; “I have a friend and he’s mostly made of pain…” This was our final sing along, the last time to make it count. We all passionately sang, closing our eyes and yelling the words back at him. I think we all walked away with the final line of the tune ringing over and over in our heads: “I have no faith but it’s all I want to be loved and believe in my soul, in my soul.”
Thank you, Conor Oberst.
Setlist:
The Big Picture
First Day Of My Life
White Shoes
Arienette
Cape Canaveral
Going For The Gold
Lenders In The Temple
New Song
Ladder Song
At The Bottom Of Everything
You Are Your Mother’s Child
Kick
June On The West Coast
Shell Games
Laura Laurent
Breezy
First Day Of My Life
White Shoes
Arienette
Cape Canaveral
Going For The Gold
Lenders In The Temple
New Song
Ladder Song
At The Bottom Of Everything
You Are Your Mother’s Child
Kick
June On The West Coast
Shell Games
Laura Laurent
Breezy
An Attempt to Tip the Scales
Lua
Waste of Paint
Lua
Waste of Paint