Conor Oberst & The Felice Brothers – The Powerstation

This was one show you didn’t want to be late for. Openers The Felice Brothers alone were worth the trip to the Powerstation and when it was revealed that they would also serve as Conor Oberst’s backing band, well, that sealed the deal, making this one very special night, indeed.

Having said that, I was a few minutes late (a prior engagement) so when I arrived at 8:20, The five members of The Felice Brothers were well into their set and the fans were in full force, having a hell of a time.

Lead vocal duties were shared by the four musicians out front, guitarist Ian Felice, keyboard player James Felice, bass player Josh Rawson and fiddle player Greg Farley. Drummer David Estabrook remained in the back, pounding out the beat.

The band finished their set with the Dylan-esque The Mating Of Doves but were quickly brought back for an encore. Bassist Rawson must have been caught out…he was missing for a few minutes…but joined in as the band began Wonderful Life. Halfway through the song a cheer went up as a shaggy-haired Conor Oberst appeared on stage to sing the final verse.

For those who felt they hadn’t gotten enough of The Felice Brothers, they would have been happy to see that when Oberst returned for his own set 20 minutes or so later, the band was right behind him.

Later, Oberst would tell the crowd that they were, “My favourite band, that’s a cold, hard fact”.  So reverting back to a Dylan comparison, this had the same vibe to Dylan being backed by The Band.

The over-two hour set started out with Time Forgot, the opening track on Conor’s latest solo album, Upside Down Mountain and immediately fiddle player Greg Farley proved what a valuable addition the Felice Brothers would be by chiming in with a beautiful passage during the intro of the song.

Those fans who were hoping for material from Bright Eyes, Oberst’s previous recording persona, need not have worried, next came Four Winds from the 2007 EP.

Oberst was looking and sounding mighty fine…a large brimmed brown hat shaded his face and his voice was clear and strong, with every one of his lyrics audible.

Conor made his way through the lengthy set like a true pro, adjusting the pace from rousing roots rockers to intimate folk melodies and interacting just enough with the audience to keep things interesting.

After Moab, Oberst spoke for the first time, noting it had been ten long years since he last played in NZ and dedicating At The Bottom Of Everything to the show’s promoters. At this point it was just Conor and the fiddle player…and the audience singing along.

The rest of the band returned for Southern State, Oberst’s ode to Athens, Georgia, and then we heard Ten Women. “This is kind of a mathematical song”, explained Conor.

Later a female vocalist appeared unannounced to help out with An Attempt To Tip The Scales. She stayed for two songs and left, only to return for the encore.

Oberst himself got so worked up during Zigzagging Toward The Light he was twirling around the stage by the end of the tune.

Felice Brothers fans got to hear one more of their songs as Ian Felice led the group and Oberst through Meadow Of A Dream…Conor placing his hat on Ian’s head at the start as if to anoint him as lead singer.

The hat went back to Oberst for the moody Artifact #1, which ended in a jangly rave up.

Cape Canaveral was dedicated to the recently departed Leonard Nimoy and everyone had a good ol’ singalong during Soul Singer In A Session Band.

“This one’s interactive”, explained Oberst as they started up with Laura Laurent and by the end of the song we knew what he meant as microphones from the stage were handed out to audience members to encourage singing along. With a chorus like “la da da da”, it was pretty easy to join in.

The set ended with Easy/Lucky/Free, but they would obviously be back for more.

The encore began with just Conor and James Felice on accordion performing Lenders In The Temple. The rest of the band, plus the female singer, now armed with an acoustic guitar, returned to play John Prine’s Long Monday…Conor expressing his love and admiration for the veteran songwriter.

Then it was all on as the stage erupted with Another Travellin’ Song. By the end, Oberst was throwing himself into the audience, crowdsurfing while playing his guitar.

The evening then ended on a relatively quiet note. Conor and bass player Josh Rawson alone on stage as Oberst sang the folky Milk Thistle.

It was quite a night, exhausting but extremely fulfilling and one of the finest shows I’ve seen so far this year. If it’s another decade until Conor Oberst returns, this night at the Powerstsation should go a long way to keeping his fans happy until then.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Flynn:

Conor Oberst set list:

1. Time Forgot
2. Four Winds
3. Moab
4. At The Bottom Of Everything
5. Southern State
6. Ten Women
7. Well Whiskey
8. An Attempt To Tip The Scales
9. Poison Oak
10. Zigzagging Toward The Light
11. Hundreds Of Ways
12. First Day Of My Life
13. Meadow Of A Dream
14. Artifact #1
15. Cape Canaveral/We Are Free Men
16. Soul Singer In A Session Band
17. Laura Laurent
18. Easy/Lucky/Free
19. Lenders In The Temple
20. Long Monday
21. Another Travellin’ Song
22. Milk Thistle