Jim James solo live at the Roseland Theater, Portland, OR, October 16, 2004 "An evening of solo & collaborative performances featuring Bright Eyes, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) & M. Ward" © Guy Burwell 2004
Willamette Week Online
Bright Eyes, Jim James and M. Ward, Roseland Theater, Oct. 16
After snoozing through some of the newer Bright Eyes material in the middle of the Omaha neo-folkie's set, the studded-belt-clad, Robert
Smith-coiffed Roseland crowd was rejuvenated by two things; a jolting version of the Bright Eyes classic "Waste of Paint" and a girl
attempting to throw herself from the balcony. While most of the crowd was there to worship Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, he was actually the
show's weakest link, failing to live up to M. Ward's mind-boggling acoustic guitar skills or Jim James' uncanny transformation into Willie
Nelson for "You Were Always on My Mind." The collection of hipsters were a curious sight at what was essentially a folk show (James
half-jokingly named the collective "Monsters of Folk"), but the artists managed on this night to transcend genre. (Amy McCullough)