BrightestYoungThings: Live DC: Felice Brothers and Conor Oberst

photos by Ethan Arpi

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If anyone can squeeze energy out of bleary-eyed 9:30 Club crowd on a cold Monday night, it's the Felice Brothers. The five-piece band is made up of a blood-brother trio James (piano, accordion), Simone (drums), and Ian (vocals, guitar). Fellow band members and childhood friends, Christmas—a former traveling dice player turned bassist—and Farley the fiddler, deflect sibling rockstar rivalries.

These Catskill mountain men warm a room like a hot cup of hard apple cider on an empty stomach. Whether they’re singing a song about “explicit sex with no rubber in the back of a white limo,” or filling hearts up with Jesus via catchy gospel melodies, the Felice Brothers strike an amusing balance between good Christian boys and self-proclaimed dirtbags.

Decked out in flannel and Carharts, these gritty Upstate New York rockers capture Americana soul with rugged harmonies and bittersweet melodies that share stories about jealous lovers, nights in the slammer, guns, and gin. It would’ve been nice to hear some of their older material, but the Felice Brothers came armed with a set of new songs they were ready to show off after recording their first U.S.-released album in a chicken coop earlier this year. Drummer Simone Felice managed to squeeze in an oldie and tip his bowler hat to last week’s election results, reminding 9:30 clubbers “…there’s some beautiful stuff happening in our country—but you always have to keep your eye out for the devil,” before transitioning into a sobering rendition of “The Devil is Real.” Ian Felice reclaimed the microphone with an old-tavern love ballad, “Love Me Tenderly.” Choo-choo train song “Penn Station,” ended the evening with a ho-down.

The artist formerly known as Bright Eyes and his Mystic Valley Band followed, introducing DC to Conor Oberst’s new sound. Ditching his bright-eyed alias isn’t the only thing Oberst did—he’s also given his angsty musical tantrums a facelift and returned to the District with a happier, twangier sound. Oberst made what seemed like a deliberate attempt to avoid his Bright Eyes past, much to the disappointment of anyone who wistfully remembers the way his music simultaneously aggravated and reprieved stormy breakups, homesick blues, and general teenage angst.

However, Oberst still can’t resist the urge to insert his political diatribe—warning audience members that he would personally blow up any wall built along the Mexican border as he randomly dedicated a cover of blues standard “Corrina, Corrina,” to our “southern homeland.” Before plunging into “I Don’t Want to Die (In A Hospital),” he announced, “…maybe if they give us universal health care we can all afford to die in a hospital—otherwise we can just die…in the gutters.”

He used to be whiny, but raw. Now he’s mature, but a bit blander. Like it or not, Oberst has grown up, and he has a new bluesy sound to prove it. His transition sounds like it went smoothly. Though sometimes glossy, Monday’s night performance was sleek, polished and tight. Yet the lengthy four-song encore was undeniably too much of a good thing—particularly considering its lukewarm reception from audience members. It’s especially unfortunate Oberst didn’t invite the Felice Brothers back out, as he did in their last DC show, to infuse some energy into his sleepy act. Rusty ballad “Milk Thistle” dabbled in Oberst’s old Bright Eyes sound and country song “Sausalito,” along with a handful of other toe-tapping melodies, showed great potential for his future.

Brightest Young Things

Live DC

Live DC: Felice Brothers and Conor Oberst

TUESDAY 2/14

Yasmin Levy with Omar Faruk Tekbilek @ The Music Center at Strathmore

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