ACL Review: Conor Oberst

At 36, Conor Oberst might be getting too ornery for music festivals.

The Omaha, Nebraskan’s 7:30pm set time on Saturday put him up against Top 40 DJs du jour the Chainsmokers and ever peppy and poppy festival mainstays Two Door Cinema Club, who were directly across from his setup at the Miller Lite stage.

“This might be hard to hear with that Verizon commercial going on,” quipped Oberst early in the hourlong set.

The sparse nature of his broken folk might not be prime Saturday night festival mood material, but as he wound through cuts from his extensive career, both with Bright Eyes and as a solo artist, the crowd wasn’t as unreceptive as he cast them.

Fiddle soared during “Four Winds” from Bright Eyes’ most recent catalog peak, 2007’s Cassadaga, harmonies and band build from his fivepiece elevating the country-tinged track to its full raucous potential. When he took to the piano, which he explained was “like a laptop, but you have to pound on it more” (insert major eyeroll), he shifted into a full-tilt wail for new cuts like “A Little Uncanny,” from his forthcoming album Ruminations, due Oct. 14.

Initial grumpiness aside, Oberst adjusted to the sound bleed and performed like the veteran that he is, Verizon commercials be damned.