MOG

well, this is my honorary mog posting after a long hiatus.... computer issues, it was the summer.... and plus i have kind of been in a stagnant place musically. i've just been listening to the same people over and over and over. but how does this all tie in with the title of my post? allow me to explain....

a few weeks ago i found out that jenny lewis, my idol, and conor oberst, the one artist i allow myself to obsess over, were going to be playing a show at the beautiful historic ryman auditorium in nashville. my dear friend pamela (boho-lullaby ) agreed to go with me, and we secured tickets alongside the stage. since the show was on the week of my birthday, it was my little eighteenth birthday treat to myself :]

so pamela and i are driving around by the river, when i spot an attractive couple by a bridge. what first drew me to the couple was their obvious indie/ boho style. the man was wearing a fedora hat, and his petite girlfriend was wearing a flowing maxi dress in a bold black and white print. then i noticed her long, tousseled reddish-brown hair, and he turned and i noticed his ray ban wayfarer sunglasses and long dirty blonde hair, and i turned to pam and exclaimed "oh my god pam! i think that is jenny lewis and jonathan rice!"

now pam is not 100% convinced it was without a doubt them, but all it took was me uttering it aloud for me to believe it. jenny being my idol and all, i think i would know her hair and style anywhere. but we unfortuately were on the wrong side of the road, and after pulling around and jumping from the car (the whole thing took 30 seconds, i swear) they were nowhere to be found. poof! gone, vanished :[

and when jenny took the stage that night, she looked like a ryman songstress of long past. her dress had a definite vintage vibe to it, and as for her singing? i dont think that her CDs do her justice. and her CDs are superb. but live, jenny's crystal clear vocals hold the audience enraptured. i almost didnt want to sing along to them, i was so afraid that my voice would mar the exquisite beauty of her songs. i would have to say my favorites of jenny's set were carpetbagger and next messiah off her new album, and her last song, see fernando, which is also on the new album but one that she has been playing live for a while.

conor came on and from the moment he opened his mouth to sing eagle on a pole, i had goosebumps. i dont think my eyes left him all night, and im sure i had a goofy smile on my face the whole time he played, but he IS my favorite for a reason. coincedentally the mystic valley band is almost the exact same getup he had with his the last time i saw him (as bright eyes) in november, only jason wasnt drumming then and mike mogis was playing with him then. surprisingly enough conor did not preach politics to us, every other time i have seen him he has called bush/cheney AT LEAST one or two bad names :] i was kinda looking forward to it, oh well. i love conor's new album, and even more i love how he changes the way he sings it from on the album. sometimes he holds things out longer, sometimes he singtalks things, either way i LOOOOOVE it. i love live music, and i really hope someone recorded the show.

all in all it was an excellent show, except for pam's shoulder injury. viscious! i must admit i didnt see it happen, i was too busy accepting conor's set list (!!!!!!!) from a friendly stage hand and then protectively clutching it to my bosom to see it happen. or else i would have beat some ass for ole pammy.

i didnt bring a camera, mine was out of juice, but pam brought hers and here are some shots i stole off her MOG: (go read her take here )

the love of my lifetime.

conor's set list. it's mine now!!!