Caught Live: Monsters Of Folk

Three hours! Americana super group Monsters of Folk are clearly not a band for those lacking in stamina. On a night that soared to astonishing dizzy heights - propelled primarily by Jim James’ lungs – the marathon set only occasionally dipped as flat as the voice of Conor Oberst. Opening with a thumping ‘Say Please’, little did the audience anticipate that close to one hundred and eighty minutes later we would be treated to an even more rousing version of the same song. This is a group of people who clearly delight in each others company, swapping instruments and shoe shuffling their way round the stage that it felt like a strange privilege to witness. It is rare these days that you see bands simply having fun on stage, normally for fear of upsetting their Brylcreem creations…

Ragged Words admit that it had some trepidation when it set foot in the venue, an art deco creation that, as James humorously put it, looked like “Miami Vice had crashed into the 1920’s”. When four big egos get together on a stage there is always a fear that a primary school, who can sing the loudest competition will ensue. Thankfully this was largely averted. Oberst, who ended the night on drum kit thrashing, was one keyboard-tipping brilliant form and took the lions share, particularly when performing a rousing solo ‘We Are Nowhere And It’s Now’ from his Bright Eyes catalogue. But all three of the main vocal protagonists got their share of the spotlight, with the highlight of the solo efforts being James’ song ‘Wonderful (The Way I Feel)’ performed with M. Ward in tow.

The night was not about solo efforts though but a band and as a band, they tried to take the roof off the place. ‘Whole Lotta Losin’ blew away any cobwebs with Ward’s delicious husk powering through the mix. My Morning Jacket’s ‘Golden’ got James dancing, an exertion from which his legs will likely long suffer. While ‘Map of the World’ provided Oberst’s now warmed up vocal the opportunity to spin his literary web over the audience.

When the show ended, we pleaded for more and mercifully it was provided. A three song encore beginning with Bright Eye’s ‘Another Travelling Song’ had people out of their seats and dancing in the isles. The curtain finally fell to a spectacular light show accompanying ‘His Masters Voice’ a beautiful, ethereal song that also fittingly closes Masters Of Folks recently released album.