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Bright Eyes

Motion Sickness: Live Recordings

Team Love | 2005 | Live Album

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I must admit I am not a fan of live albums. They never really capture the true essence of the band or artist. So when Team Love announced they would be releasing a live album from Conor Oberst aka Bright Eyes I was a little skeptical. Motion Sickness is a collection of live recordings from the I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning tour. Surprisingly Motion Sickness comes as close to capturing a live Bright Eyes show as possible. The only thing missing is the hundreds of self hating indie emo kids crying on each other's shoulders.

The disc opens with crowd noise and applause, and in the midst of all that noise is the phrase we have all heard while attending a Bright Eyes show. "Conor I love you!" Yes, we all do love Conor, but his music should come first because it connects on some level with his fans.

Oberst sounds, well like Conor. The squeaky sounding poster child for emo sounds tight and right on with album versions of the songs. "At the bottom of everything" and "We are nowhere and it's now" sound a little flat, but that goes back to live albums not being able to catch the true essence of a band. "When the President Talks to God" is also featured more for political reasons than musical reasons. It gains huge applause from the crowd, and the anger in Oberst's voice says it all. Down the line it will surely become this generation's "Blowin in the Wind".

The haunting "Landlocked Blues" showcases Oberst's soft whispering voice that can pull you into the song. You forget there is even instruments in the song until the horn section makes its appearance at the end. "Road to Joy" the album's high point is more aggressive and powerful than the album version. Plus Oberst's straining vocal chords are put to a test when he screams, "Lets fuck it boys make some noise!"

Two covers also make an appearance. Oberst makes an attempt at Feist's "Mushaboom". It lacks Feist's melody and harmony, but I must admit it is cool hearing Conor cover the song. He also attempts Elliot Smith's "The Biggest Lie". Its more of a sad homage to Smith. No backing band, it displays Oberst's vulnerable voice paying tribute to a great singer/songwriter.

Mike Pea