Conor Oberst performs at Rock the Garden 2015
by Conor Oberst
June 30, 2015
As the sun started to set behind the Rock the Garden stage, Conor Oberst took the stage and delivered the day's most pensive set. Backed by the Felice Brothers, the Bright Eyes and Desparecidos frontman drew from his latest solo album, Upside Down Mountain, and took listeners on a tour of his decades-long career in songwriting.
While other acts on Saturday drew on the energy of the big crowd to amp up their live set, Conor seemed to look inward for his inspiration. Long locks of hair shielded his eyes from the crowd, and he looked downward and he unraveled the more personal narratives in songs like "Poison Oak," holding the audience rapt.
At other times the band joined in to fill out the songs with violin and layers of guitar, and the Felice Brothers shined especially brightly on the urgent "Soul Singer in a Session Band" and "Easy/Lucky/Free." It provided for a mellow, introspective respite, giving the audience a chance to catch their breath and catch up with their feelings before heading into Belle and Sebastian's headlining set.
Setlist
"Time Forgot"
"Hundreds of Ways"
"Four Winds" (Bright Eyes)
"Southern State" (Bright Eyes)
"Artifact #1"
"Cape Canaveral"
"Soul Singer in a Session Band" (Bright Eyes)
"Butch Cassidy" (The Felice Brothers)
"Method Acting" (Bright Eyes)
"Poison Oak" (Bright Eyes)
"Easy/Lucky/Free" (Bright Eyes)
"Milk Thistle"
Written by Andrea Swensson
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Corey Schreppel
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