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Monsters of Folk at the Landmark Theater

By Christy  Sheppard | Richmond.com
Published: November 6, 2009
monsters of folk

Monsters of Folk: l to r. Mike Mogis, M. Ward, Jim James and Conor Oberst.

Once upon a (long, long) time ago ... er, 2004, Conor Oberst, Jim James and M. Ward joined together to perform as the opening act for Oberst's band, Bright Eyes.

Ever since that brief stint together, which they billed as "An Evening of Solo and Collaborative Performances," the three of them contemplated the idea of forming a sort of folk supergroup (go ahead, laugh if you must).

Enter Monsters of Folk, arguably the most talent-ridden and impressive folk group ... like, ever. Jim, M. Ward (a.k.a. Matt) and Conor eventually added Mike Mogis (Mogis had worked with both Conor and Oberst in the past) to the lineup and now they've embarked on a tour to take over the world, one folker at a time.

They'll be making a stop in our very fair city this Tuesday, November 10 at the Landmark Theater. My birthday is in November. Is this a coincidence? I've convinced myself not!

They are bringing along a fifth member, a drummer, for the live show so buckle your seatbelts, Richmond indie-music lovers, this is going to be one fantastic ride.

They'll be playing music from their new album as well as some of their own respective hits. They all sing (except Mogis) so expect to hear something from each of them, and they all play different instruments. So it'll probably be a bit like ... musical instruments? Fun!

In case you're not familiar with these guys, here's a bit of background information:

James is the crooning front-man of My Morning Jacket. They. Are. Effing. Awesome.


Oberst is a geeky (in that sexy indie way), skinny, witty kid who performs under his own name and also as the band I mentioned before, Bright Eyes. He played at the National a while back with the Mystic River Band.

M. Ward recently collaborated with actress Zooey Dechanel to form the group She & Him. It's no secret I prefer her comedic timing to her singing. With that said, though, Ward's voice is eerily haunting and has this great resonance that almost seems impossible to achieve without machinery (think T-Pain and that awful auto-tune shit). Anyway, he doesn't use any manipulation, his voice is just that awesome.

Mogis is a "producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist." (thanks Wikipedia)

The band is touring in support of their recently released album, Monsters of Folk.

Ticket prices are a bit steep ($35+) but it's likely you won't get the opportunity to see these guys play together again.

Click here for more details on the event.

Jim James
James.
Conor Oberst
Oberst.
M. Ward
Ward.

Christy Sheppard is an avid music fan, music mag subscriber and live show goer and she tweets for @richmonddotcom and her personal account @cshepscorp. She sometimes often sings loudly in her cubicle.

 

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