Conor Oberst at Boulder Theater 7/1: Indulgent as a Fourth Gin and Tonic

July 1st saw Conor Oberst’s Salutations tour at Boulder Theater, a set that spanned all ages of Oberst, from his early project Bright Eyes to his most recent solo album Salutations (2017). Known for his tired raconteur-turned-barkeeper vocal style and general self debasement, Oberst has been the recent recipient of criticism and doubt of his merit as an artist. Yet Oberst performed with the musical leverage of any other professional musician; a commanding stage presence and a sound quality nearly parallel to studio level recording. 

Conor Oberst at Boulder Theater, 1 July 2017. Photo: Jocelyn Rockhold

Oberst has defined the subculture of emo-indie music since the early aughts. A veteran musician and prolific song-writer, Oberst has carved his own whiskey sodden hovel in the music world and nestled himself cozily into it. Including the beloved, rose colored and honey-sweet I’m Wide Awake it’s Morning, Oberst captained over fourteen albums with Bright Eyes. Since his contributions with Bright Eyes (1998-2011) the man has gone on to create over seven solo and collaborative albums with indie label Sub Pop Records. 

Conor Oberst at Boulder Theater, 1 July 2017. Photo: Jocelyn Rockhold

The placelessness and angst Oberst’s work feeds off of has become expectable. With narratives of New York winters warmed by cups of wine in stranger’s apartments, wandering aimlessly through the streets of Mexico, or passing time in a local watering hole, all of his projects are instantly recognizable via Oberst’s tone and visage. But while his lyrics speak of a past life in which our loves were great and our sorrows even greater, his performance at the Boulder Theater was refreshingly present. After a suitably fantastic and heart-wrenching set from Oberst’s long time friend, Tim Kasher, the theater settled in for a look at one of its most raw, burdened heroes.

Oberst’s recent work has refashioned the storied sound of American folk. Oberst has transformed the tradition of twangy, downtrodden and universally relatable country-pop lyricism and crafted his own achingly personal inflictions. The setlist included the first track on Ruminations (2016) “Too Late to Fixate” and “Barbary Coast (Later)”, alongside classics such as “Train Under Water” and “Southern State”. The performance filled the theater with their thickly layered instrumentation, and the band (which included members of The Felice Brothers, session drummer Jim Keltner, Gillian Welch, M. Ward, Jim James and Maria Taylor) had a palpable chemistry, considering their artistic stature, and that they’ve contributed to various Oberst projects. 

Conor Oberst is as indulgent as a fourth gin and tonic, and that is exactly why we love him; sardonic and in the vein of Father John Misty’s addled distaste for all things modern and ‘of the self’ and ‘of the world’. Oberst is a figure we love to love nearly as much as we love to write him off as ‘just a sad-sack guy’, as he embodies all the moody and morose aspects of our most ungrateful, hedonistic and all-around selfish selves. But that is exactly why we’ve loved him, even if ‘it’s complicated.’

Conor Oberst switching out his guitars at Boulder Theater, 1 July 2017. Photo: Jocelyn Rockhold

For all his faults, faces and personas, his contributions are seminal to music history as a whole. Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and the like are defined by their lyrical vulnerability and the brittle reality of addictions, breakups, and other popular neuroses of the 21st century. Their work is honest, at times ugly, at times downright painful, but always honest. Time shows that people will connect most with unbridled honesty. For that reason, Oberst and Kasher are still standing, living long past the era when I’m Wide Awake it’s Morning or Cursive’s (Kasher) Domestica was nested in your six-disk spinner. In an age where we all curate our identities to the most minute degree, and social media is all smiles everything, one can make the argument that Oberst is still all the more relevant, and his persona is not necessarily a tool to use, but a construction of his artistic bravery. 

His weary intonations and general, unabashed and drunken self-effacement are at times to swallow, dripping all their immoral humors:

“My wife takes a vacation/ One she can't afford/ I go fishin' the alleys/ For someone to escort/ No, I don't mind the money/ It beats betting on sports/ And though it might get expensive/ It's cheaper than divorce.” 

But we’re fucked if we deny that admitting your trespasses isn’t the first step. Now, you may be thinking that Oberst has been at it for a little while too long here, hitting the wall of his own self, continuing the legacy of tortured male artists such as the late poet John Berryman (The Dream Songs). And you’re not wrong either. But for all he is, he is a talented musician, and his performance at the Boulder Theater alongside Tim Kasher (Cursive, The Good Life) and others proved him so. 

Conor Oberst at Boulder Theater, 1 July 2017. Photo: Jocelyn Rockhold

The Salutations album and tour was met with much criticism and apprehension from Pitchfork seeing as Salutations 2017 was a short side-step from Ruminations 2016, which consisted of acoustic, solo tracks, and showed a rawer, more intimate side of Oberst. Ruminations, which was well received, stirred the theory that he may soon be shedding the cocoon of his former 2005 self who was defined by “protest song and smack-addled narcolepsy.” Salutations (released a year later) was a somewhat shallow reproduction of Ruminations with a backing band consisting of seven of his best friends and the track-list was shuffled. According to Pitchfork, at least.

But the folk-flagellant Oberst’s recent album Salutations 2017, though a short side-step from Ruminations 2016, for all its criticisms, gives its predecessor a stronger spine. The secondary album (a diptych of sorts) reiterates and strengthens its predecessor. And given that the Ruminations tour was merely half the size of the Salutations tour, Oberst may have merely wanted to give a wider breadth to his listenership. All in all, Oberst still remains a accomplished and capable musician, and a major contributor to the indie-folk subgenre as a whole. 

Author: Kendall Morris, Music Writer at Ultra5280
 

New York's The Dig Brought Denver Psych-Pop Clarity @ Larimer Monday 3/27

The Dig played an exclusive set at Larimer Lounge on Monday comprised of their newest Bloodshot Tokyo (2017)- a refreshing offshoot from predecessors Tame Impala and Dr. Dog. The Dig bring the raw relatability of the primary in their clever lyricism and tonality, yet elevate the mood with the syrupy psychedelia of the latter. The quattro has palpable magnetism; their far reaching harmonies were layered yet concise, dripping with charming clarity while remaining danceable and effervescent. 

Photo Kendall Morris

Photo Kendall Morris

David Baldwin and Emile Mosseri fronted the stage with a strange at-home electricity. The show was to be their last of the tour, thus they were familiar with set and stage, but also ready to blow whatever pent energy they had left post-road. 

Emile Mosseri took to the ledge, drenched in magenta light, channeling light, mild-and-airy vocals which Baldwin closely shadowed. Keyboardist Erik Eiser sifted through the melodies and keyboard settings with quick hands and quicker bare feet; his maze of wires included a varied pedal assemblage, multiple keyboards and synths, and a plastic water cup expertly tucked into his discarded sneaker for safe sips. 

On tracks like Jet Black Hair their pedalwork crafted intricate waves and rifts with oblique attention, while on others such as Bleeding Heart (You Are the One), synthy beats drove the set into saturation. Their set was largely explorative; sounds drifted over the crowd for interminable moments before flitting off into another pop-beat configuration. 

The Dig’s new sound is easy yet invasive and implacable. Their sound worms into your limbs and may just start moving them, but it posesses a cerebral and candid quality that is often impossible to mimic. While The Dig’s new release Bloodshot Tokyo is in conversation with the larger forces in the psych-pop movement, it remains it’s own entity, dolling out it’s own particular creativity rooted in it’s New York upbringing.

We’re excited to see where The Dig is going, particularly with their newest release. Their set is not to be missed, and posed as a reminder of the weird magic of music, the art of crafting songs with full-blooded entities out of the smoke in the barroom air. 
 

Brent Cowles Is At It Again With New Single "Cold Times"

Do not let the 75 degree fall days fool you, Denver. The Cold Times are coming - and luckily for you they have arrived early in the form of beautiful, twangy drawls from Denver’s sweetheart, Brent Cowles. 

Cowles ventured out into the solo-sphere in early 2015 after recent split from Fort Collins band, You Me and Apollo. He has since signed with our favorite burrito mongols’ record label, Greater Than Collective. With an easily identifiable voice and style, Cowles is making waves in the Colorado music scene and his latest debut is the fruition of hard work, perseverance and good ol’ American rock. 

Cold Times highlights Cowles' signature poetic lyrics with a rhythmic, soulful bass line. It’s a foot stomping, beer drinking anthem that is sure to persevere long after the cold months have passed us by.

Hard to compare, Cowles is humble, honest, talented and on the fast track to becoming one of those artists we all brag about seeing at the Hi Dive on a random Tuesday night. 

- McClain Morris

Laughing Our Asses Off With Flaural | Denver Bred Musicians & Amateur Comedians

Flaural, the psych-pop, new-wave Denver bred five piece has been playing official shows for exactly one year. 2015 UMS saw their first ever official set and they’ve since toured across the nation and released a second EP, Over Imaginary Cigarettes. Their new single “Nonnie” is a stunning track, breaking off with Tame Impala-esque synth and dipping into ethereal, ambient riffs and shoegazey restlessness. Their 2015 EP Thin King was celebrated by Westword as “colorful, bright, urgent yet expansive melodies that feel breezy and headlong but never anxious.” Flaural has built an impressive following for a band that is just about to turn one this weekend and have since played with Wild Nothing and at Treefort Fest in Boise Idaho.

They’ve been on our radar since we saw them open for Gardens and Villa back in early October and on our list of UMS bands to see since the lineup was released. Check them out at Mainstage this Saturday at 3:30pm.

We were able to catch up with five piece during one of their band practices and delved into everything about hair, harmonies and most of all, the UMS weekend which awaits.  

Team members: Noah Pfaff, Collin Johnson, Nick Berlin, Connor Birch, Scott Storch

(U5280) What bands are you looking forward to see at UMS this year? 

(NP) Personally I really want to see Methyl Ethel, and the Allah-Las, too, really badly.  Thick Business is a band from Boise who’s really cool. Sunflower Bean is playing again, Couches from Oakland, Marshal Poole from Boise, and then all of the locals of course, but I don’t want to name a band and have a friend be like, “Why didn’t you say our name?” you know. 

(U5280) You’ve been out touring nationwide for awhile. Which state treated you best?

(NP) California probably. Well, South Dakota treated us very really well. I wouldn’t be on the phone with you right now were it not for Boise, Idaho, Eric Gilbert and Megan Stoll [founder of Treefort Music Festival] and everyone else from Boise. They’ve all been so nice to us. 

(U5280) You recently released two EPs. Anything brewing in the recording studio?

(NP) We’re waiting for a time frame during which we could put out a full length album and we’ll hit the road with that. We also really want to re-release the two EP’s as an LP.

(U5280) What was your experience like last year at UMS? 

(NP) That was our first official show, which is crazy, because looking back, it’s been a long year with a lot of music, and travel. We’ve played over sixty shows this year. We wanted to do a less stressful UMS and just take it easy. Enjoy the shows. We always love playing the Hi-dive, though. Kurt and all of those dudes are super nice. I may or may not being going there tonight. 

(U5280) What can we expect to hear- new stuff, old stuff, any covers? 

(NP) Strictly covers. Scott was playing Smoke on the Water just a second ago (laughs). Last UMS we only had one EP released, so this year we’ll have a little more to draw from. We’re actually a five piece band now; our friend Scott just joined in, so you can expect some more harmonies and hair. Lots of hair. Yeah, this year we’ve got a lot more hair. Plus, August will be a good month for shows, we’ve got a lot of things planned. August is when we’ll be grindin’. 

(U5280) Who’s the most likely to be catching Pokemon between shows?

(NP) Nick, and that’s only because I can’t afford the mother fucking data. Nick will be playing Pokemon Go and I’ll be playing Gameboy. 

(U5280) Which band member is most likely to bring out the short shorts to beat the heat? 

(NP) Nick, Nick too. I’m the band member most likely to be wearing tight black pants in the heat. All of us. We actually only play with people who wear tight black pants. Except Scott, he’s wearing blue pants. They’re still tight, though. 

(U5280) Any advice for this year’s UMS goers? 

(List ensues). 

Ignore your hangover. 
Carry a flask because it gets expensive. 
Go to Piehole for a dollar beer. 
Don’t be a jerk. 
Take it too the limit. 
Do not bum cigarettes from the Hi-dive basement.

(NP) Well, my favorite part of the UMS weekend is really just hanging out with people for the same reason. It’s going to be a good time. 

Catch Flaural at Mainstage on Saturday at 3:30 during UMS. 

Music | Opening Up with Sleepwalkers | Red Rocks 6/7 & 6/8 w/ The Lumineers

Image: Joey Wharton

Hailing from Richmond VA, Sleepwalkers is on a month long tour with the Lumineers and probably on your Spotify’s Discovery Weekly playlist this week. The band has experienced a surge of popularity since their album Greenwood Shade dropped in 2014, and they’re riding the wave with their L.A. psychedelic surf-pop vibe. Their track Cocaine is bumping; a perfect intro song on any summer playlist. A perfect pairing with anything from Tame Impala’s Lonerism or STRFKR’s Heaven’s Youth. Their harmonies are on point, rivaling Shaun Flemings of Diane Coffee’s vocals on My Friend Fish. We’ve been listening to their entire album on repeat in this Denver heat. It’s got us dreaming of California, road trips, and seriously ready for the weekend.

We got in contact with Sleepwalkers yesterday before they opened for the Lumineers’ sold out show at Red Rocks. We got to talking about their latest record, their long, sleepy drives through middle America while on tour and the greatness of short shorts. We learned that good people still exist in today’s music industry, a little about the story behind Greenwood Shade (2014) and to always stop for a selfie with any of America’s landmarks whilst touring.

Band Members: Michael York, Mike Bryan, Alex De Jong Drummer: Beard.

Q: Your most recent album, Greenwood Shade, (2014) incorporates a wide range of influences; bright, indie pop on Cocaine to the Unknown Mortal Orchestra-esque psychedelic vibes on Thinking About the Road. What is it like to play such a multifaceted album live?

A: It’s invigorating. Our reasoning for conducting Sleepwalkers was to play a bunch of different styles, to draw from all different genres-- that way we don’t get bored. We started that way, and it’s all come together since our conception. It’s fun to play. We love it, and people seem to like it too. 

Q: Going into production, what was the preliminary concept of Greenwood Shade?

A: Well, we weren’t trying to conceptualize anything. I think we had a batch of songs that in the end, the way we sequenced them, made things move kind of slowly like a concept album. It just happened really naturally, and really quickly.

Q: After recording the album, which I read you completed in an astonishing two week stint- did the album’s concept shift?

A: People interpret it in a lot of different ways.We have some songs that are in different movements; some are about childhood, others about love and heartbreak. It just kind of organically came about. There wasn’t really a concept that we discussed. We just had a lot of well written songs that we happened to place on the same record. It could have been any other number of songs, but it happened to be these ones. It was all really experimental. The record came about while we were just hanging out, trying new drum parts or guitar parts. We incorporated a really wide range of genres. It really came together because of Alex, our engineer. We put tons of influences in and he made it all cohesive. After a week’s worth of recording, we had the idea to call the record Greenwood Shade-- that’s the street that we were living on at the time. We were getting out of a period of a creative depression by making something new.

Q: Greenwood Shade, despite its unpredictable swings into various genre influence, is consistently upbeat and bright. Your sound juxtaposed with your band name, Sleepwalkers, breeds some tension. What’s the relationship between your bright, awake sound and your name?

A: You have to conceptualize it. Band names like the Beatles or the Kinks don’t really make sense, but it’s the music that makes sense. That allows you to interpret it in a lot of different ways. I think Sleepwalkers fits well while we’re on tour-- lots of late nights and early mornings. We feel like Sleepwalkers in that way. Greenwood Shade was also recorded in the time between midnight and 2 A.M., so.

Q: You’re in the middle of a month long tour with the Lumineers. What has your experience as a band looked like thus far? I mean, holy shit, you’re playing at the most iconic music venue in the US (we’re slightly biased).  

A: We were expecting to be where we are now in two to five years. We’re just really thankful. We feel honored to have the opportunity to play with such a great band like the Lumineers, to have them want to take us on the road and have us play every night. It’s an incredible opportunity at this point in our career. It’s very humbling. We couldn’t be more grateful for it. I think we’re ready for it, though. Not to headline, but to open.

Q: Has touring altered your perspective of the music world and music making?

A: It’s easy to feel jaded in the music industry, but when you’re around guys like The Lumineers, they’re putting out constant professionalism. It’s unparalleled. We learn so much just watching them on stage. Watching the way Wes Schultz of the Lumineers interacts with the crowd every night makes us better performers. We work to make our audience reciprocate our energy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. When you’re working with professionals like this and they’re really nice, it just goes to show you that you don’t have to be a bad person, you can still make good music and be good to people too. It’s been a great tour for that reason.

Q: Who would be the most likely to make your tour bus stop and check out the world’s largest rocking chair in Fanning, Missouri?

A: All of us have that kind of adventurous attitude. Any huge landmark we passed we pulled over to take pictures. We have that road trip psychology. We recently renamed the band Desert Dad’s because we’ve all been wearing short shorts.

Q: Really?

A: No. Not really.

Q: Which band member has the best beard right now? Tips for our readers who are willing to go to great lengths for great beardom?

A: Well what’s brilliant is the drummer’s last name is Beard. Alex also has got a great beard, it’s pretty sexy. Our tip would be to moisturize. Conditioner. Were like really timid, scrawny guys but we dress like lumberjacks. We also just don’t have time to shave.

Q: Coming off of the tour high in July, what do you expect will be your next move?

A: A new record. Some shows on the east coast, hopefully in the UK., but mostly a new record.

Sleepwalkers is opening for the Lumineers tonight at Red Rocks, but good luck getting in because the show’s sold out. Keep your eye out for them, though, because they’re sure to come through Denver again, hopefully touring their new record.

Music | Why We're Serious About Andrew Bird | Paramount Theatre, May 24th

Andrew Bird ended the tour for his most recent album, Are You Serious? at the Paramount on Tuesday and did not go down without a fight. Bird’s talent goes beyond his wide vocal range and serious whistling skills with technical deftness and informed musical experimentation. He switched from instrument to instrument, at times harmonizing with his violin or jamming on his acoustic electric. Our hypothesis to all of his mad genius: a second set of arms tucked behind his spiff suit jacket.

On tour in support of his latest debut, Are You Serious led to Bird playing the album in its entirety. But of course this did not stop the violinist from sprinkling in a few cult classics like, Nervous Tim and 3 White Horses - automatic crowd pleasers. We were excited to see Bird so into his new album, after putting out thirteen albums the newness and excitement can easily turn to lackluster complacency. His excitement is evident in not only the album as a whole - which draws on a more intense and whimsical Bird - but from his overall performance in Denver. A night that can be summed up with a few words: brash ingenuity. 

A testament to Bird’s orchestrated chaos is the wild and free ease in the way he so carelessly loops various instruments together. Beginning in silence, adding in violin, finishing it off with his branded piccolo whistle… and even with all of that going on he still manages to hold a stoic and collected stage presence. His true talent rings true through performance, Bird commands the crowd with a single vibrato whistle and carries it through the disarray of multiple instruments harmonizing effortlessly. 

Bird is innovative while remaining familiar, classic, and candidly eccentric. Are You Serious? carries lyrics that are perfectly relatable (lot’s of “I” and “you” pronouns indicative of pop lyricism), combined with classical instruments like the violin and glockenspiel, all working to create a pastoral feel while ascending into a heavy assault of ardor; a revelry in the trifles of modern romance and the beauty of modern confusion. 

Are You Serious? Is evidence of Bird’s ever-increasing talent; it reaches a deeper complexity with its arrangements than we’ve seen in his previous albums, but maintains the emblematic clarity and familiarity of his previous work. Bird took to ambient drifts, slipping through the undercurrents we hear his first albums including the Fingerlings series; at times dipping into the ethereal, minimalist sound-scarcity of his wholly instrumental, acoustic album released in 2015, Echolocations: Canyon. His looping echoes created an atmosphere that is both dense and arid. Bird built surges of sound decorated effusively with finger-pickings, bird songs, water trickles and the like. 

The album is a departure for Bird in that he draws upon influences such as Radiohead and other alt-rock artists like The Black Keys in his opening track “Capsized”, bringing gritty elusivity anointed with his definitive jazz and swing influence. The verve pulled a current of palpable energy out of the Paramount, a hard feat for an all acoustic ensemble. Bird’s taken on a distorted guitar and added strength to the bass, all welcome additions. Bird told Live Nation of his thoughts on the new direction, “This one was particularly epic. The whole process just seemed more intense than previous albums. I was really determined to nail something and push into some new areas.” That he did, and then some. 

Bird and his band slipped innocuously offset after their hour long phantasmagoria; the modulations, darting lights, and sonic loops did not grow tiresome for Denver’s Mile High city who “gets live music,” as Bird uttered before jumping into four encore songs including a Bob Dylan tribute who celebrated his 75th birthday that night. 

Thirteen albums is a hefty accomplishment for any artist, but it seems as though the lyricist from Chicago is simply building off the ample foundation he’s cultivated since the mid 90’s. If this album is any indication of what Bird is yet to unveil, then we’re buying presale on his next. 

Words: McClain Morris & Kendall Morris