Bright Eyes: Alex McManus, Mike Mogis, Nick White, Stefanie Drootin, Jason Boesel, Conor Oberst, Nate Walcott.
Additional personnel: Jesse Harris (guitar).
At the time of the Winter 2005 tour documented by MOTION SICKNESS: LIVE RECORDINGS, Conor Oberst--aka Bright Eyes--was among the most reviled and worshipped artists in indie rock. Fortunately for listeners, hype subsides and MOTION SICKNESS leaves the facts: the Oberst of 2005 was a young man in the midst of crafting an undeniable catalog of good songs, and using a newer, more mature vocal delivery to get them across. Only traces remain here of the cloying ticks of his well-publicized youth, and in their wake is a loose, confident persona that can turn a poetical turn of phrase into a pop mantra better than anyone since you-know-who.
The material is largely devoted to the country-rock album I'M WIDE AWAKE, IT'S MORNING, and keyboardist/trumpeter Nate Wolcott and guitarist Mike Mogis lead the band through the album's standouts--"We Are Nowhere And It's Now" and "Landlocked Blues, for example"--like seasoned pros. The pulse quickens for energetic readings of "Road to Joy" and "When the President Talks to God"--the two closest things Gen Y has to honest-to-goodness political anthems. Oberst shows off his music geek side, too, with great covers of Feist and Elliot Smith. Any haters who aren't appreciators after hearing his take on the latter's "The Biggest Lie" just cannot be reached. For the rest of us, there's a great live album of a band gaining control over their very formidable powers.
