When I heard of super-group Monsters of Folk a few months ago, I did not know what to expect but I knew whatever it was, it would be amazing.  The four members – Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and M. Ward – were sure to create music that would turn some of their fans to mush.  And after hearing the self-titled album, I was one of the many in the liquid pile of ‘okay this is so amazing, let’s listen to it again.’  So when I scored tickets (thanks to UCLA Radio) for the show on Sunday, October 18th at the Greek Theatre, to say I was excited is an understatement.

Indeed, the four members are great when they’re focusing on their own respective bands, but together?  They’re absolutely breath-taking.  Jim James’ sweet southern vocals mixed with the raspy voice of M. Ward and the flowing tone of Conor Oberst is enough to make any fan rejoice.  However, each member did sing a few songs from their own band(s), mixing up the setlist and uplifting the audience by playing some favorites.  An obvious crowd favorite was performed by all of Monsters of Folk, but lead by Conor Oberst, as they did their own rendition of the Bright Eyes song “At the Bottom of Everything.”  Another memorable performance was the Monsters of Folk song “Dear God,” as they all came together to remind us of what a super-group can really do.  At different parts of the night we found ourselves watching only one or two members on stage – Jim James and M. Ward, Conor Oberst and M. Ward, Conor and Jim James, or just M. Ward or Conor Oberst – for other tunes.

As if the scenery of the Greek Theatre isn’t enough, the audience was kick-back and clearly in for a good time.  Monsters of Folk gave us all about 3 hours of good folk and indie music at a place that seems ideal for a folk show.  I look forward to any shows they’ll have in the future and definitely recommend you check out their self-titled album Monsters of Folk.  Their next show will be a show you don’t want to miss.

Setlist (or, well, what I could grasp from the setlist), not in order of performance

1. Say Please
2. The Right Place
3. Soul Singer in a Session Band
4. Vincent O’Brien
5. Man Named Truth
6. Lullaby and Exile
7. One Hundred Million Years
8. Chinese Translation
9. Outta My Head
10. I Will Be There When You Die
11. We are Nowhere and Its Now
12. The Big Picture
13. The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me
14. Goodway
15. Whole Lotta Losin’
16. Map of the World
17. Slow Down Jo
18. Dear God
19. At the Bottom of Everything
20. Hit the Switch
21. Another Traveling Song

-Aria
Intern, ZOMG Radio, Wednesdays 12pm-2pm