As indie super-group Monsters of Folk took the stage Monday night at Massey Hall, the mysterious lighting initially masked the appearances of the band members. But as the lights went up, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and M. Ward (as well as drummer Will Johnson) were revealed to be dressed tidily in proper suits, keeping with the show’s classy theme, “An Evening with Monsters of Folk.”
Oberst was clearly the heart of the group that night, providing the emotional pull throughout the three-hour set. Ward was the eyes, offering an introspective view of the world through his lyrical storytelling. James, the most outgoing, would be best defined as the body of the group. He was also the most monster-like in appearance, with his wild beard and hair, shaking wildly through Monsters’ energetic tunes.
The band’s repertoire that evening included almost all the songs from their self-titled debut album, as well as a variety of songs from the members’ non-Monsters projects. Of course, there’s overlap between the groups: M. Ward sang along onstage on a tune from Bright Eyes’ Cassadaga for which he was present during the album’s recording. Similarly, Jim James was able to chime in on Oberst’s “At the Bottom of Everything” from his 2005 release I’m Wide Awake and It’s Morning. Even fans of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes’s more electronic 2005 album, got their fill, as the band found a way to make “Hit the Switch” work with more traditional instrumentation.
The set list moved easily from the quick, danceable shuffle of James’ “Losin’ Your Head” to more serious, profound performances of MMJ songs by James and Ward. The latter also dazzled fans with his biggest hits to date: “Vincent O’Brien” from 2003’s The Transfiguration of St. Vincent, “Chinese Translation” from 2006’s Post War, and “One Hundred Million Years” from 2009’s Hold Time. The crowd watched Ward’s solo performance of “Translation” in awe, especially during the last half, in which he delved into a guitar-picking jam session.
James’ greatest asset remains his falsetto, almost whistle-like voice, which alternated between haunting and soothing, but remained consistently beautiful. James was also the jokester of the night, recounting the strangeness of going through Canadian customs:
“It’s funny how you guys call customs ‘douanes,’” he began. “I have a friend named Dwayne, he’ll like to know that. So anyway, we were asked why we were coming into Canada, and I said we were playing a show [they] made sure no one was looking, and took us into the back room where all the drugs are confiscated. And that’s why we are all really effed up on drugs right now.” The audience, realizing the story’s untruth, couldn’t help but laugh anyway.
Oberst appeared looser and more weightless than he typically does alongside Bright Eyes, and let it all out during the evening’s most rocking songs. Hopefully, he has given up fighting the demons of expectation that are said to have haunted him since he began receiving critical acclaim as a teenager. The show ended in a trance-like state after a rendition of James’ “His Master’s Voice” from Title, which combined ethereal sounds with amazing light effects. The band left the stage without a word, leaving us to wonder what the combined powers of so many strong groups will come up with next.
