Conor Oberst with Dawes at Central Park Summerstage, 7/29/14

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Dawes' opening set, with Nate Walcott on their last song.
I like to see artists perform where they live. Catching Conor Oberst in Omaha is always special, largely because some combination of his friends, ex-bandmates, and Saddle Creek colleagues will show up to add something unique to the show. But Oberst has a second home and another record label (Team Love) in NYC these days, so when I heard he was performing two days before a professional conference I was attending, I snagged a ticket.

Conor, early in the set.
Because my flight was delayed, I showed up pretty late to the show – at least by my own standards. I arrived as the doors were opening, so there were approximately a bajillion people in line in front of me. I made the best of it and still ended up on the third row of the GA crowd.

Dawes opened, like they have on the rest of the tour. The setlist was what I remembered from their recent two-night stand in Minneapolis. They performed well, but nothing stood out as new until the last song of their set, when they brought out Nate Walcott (mainstay of Bright Eyes and, of late, movie music producer) to play the trumpet. It appeared my anticipation of a “hometown” show in NYC was going to hit the mark.

The whole band, including Walcott on the back row, second from right.
Walcott ended up performing throughout Oberst’s set, though certainly not on every song. He was joined by two other brass players (collectively, “The Buffalo Omahorns”), and the Lovell sisters on the mandolin and slide guitar, such that the final lineup included Conor, the four members of Dawes, and five additional instrumentalists that hadn’t been with the band on the Minneapolis swing. When Oberst mentioned that Jenny Lewis was at the show, I had high hopes of an encore collaboration that never materialized. I Got the Reason #2 was dedicated to his dad, who was in attendance.

Conor and Dawes.
The setlist was fabulous, featuring some of my favorite Cassadaga cuts and even some Digital Ash and Lifted tracks. The extra musicianship made it even better. For me, highlights of this show were No One Would Riot for Less and Old Soul Song (For the New World Order). The latter is about the Republican National Convention in NYC in 2004, when Oberst said several of his friends were arrested and wrapped up in orange nets. “Fuck them,” someone in the crowd shouts. “Fuck them?” Oberst rejoins, spitting. “That’s not where I was going with it, but it’s a cool thing to throw out there, I guess.”



Setlist:
Time Forgot
Zigzagging Toward the Light
Hundreds of Ways
Conor, Taylor Goldsmith, one of the Lovell sisters, and Nate Walcott.
We Are Nowhere and It’s Now
Bowl of Oranges
Hit the Switch
Artifact #1
Danny Callahan
No One Would Riot for Less
Governor’s Ball
Old Soul Song for the New World Order
Firewall
Desert Island Questionnaire
Double Life
Cleanse Song
Lover I Don’t Have to Love
Poison Oak
I Got the Reason #2
__

Lua

Another Travelin’ Song

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