In July, when news broke that Joan Faircloth, the woman who had accused Conor Oberst of rape, had retracted her claims and admitted that 100% of the story was fabricated, I was relieved on all but one aspect. Excepting of the shadow that the false allegations cast on real sexual assault cases, I was relieved that Oberst had not in fact sexually assaulted a woman and that Faircloth had not had to endure such an ordeal. Sadly, it seems Faircloth’s struggles are of a different if equally dark nature. Still, I can’t help but wonder what kind of affect the allegations had on Oberst’s career, even after the retractions were made and the media began to circulate the truth.
Last Saturday night, Oberst played a show in Austin at Stubb’s; his last show in town was at Bass Concert Hall. The two venues have a difference of 700 available seats. I can’t say it’s directly related, but it certainly piqued my curiosity, and I can’t help but feel frustrated at not only Faircloth but also the methods of consumption of media in our age as well as the nature of entertainment news. I’m happy to say that Oberst didn’t seem affected onstage, didn’t seem to carry any weight as he performed songs from across his catalogue.
Oberst seems to be at a pivotal place in his career. His early Bright Eyes albums full of quivering vocals and angsty, self-deprecating, shouted lyrics spoke to an impressive wide swath of early 2000s young folks, myself included. In fact, in the days before Oberst’s Austin show, some of Austin’s most talented musicians performed a tributary cover night at the prestigious Cactus Cafe. As he left behind the Bright Eyes moniker, he has delivered folk rock gems here and there and has collaborated with some of folk’s biggest names, old and new–Jim James, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, and M. Ward, the latter of which he first helped rise popularity.
Oberst has become a household name, but I don’t think any of his later works have risen to the level of the band’s 2005 album I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning. I believe it’s possible he still possesses the greatness to produce this kind of work. Likely, it will be an album that steers away from the angst of youth and looks more to the universal struggle of life, of truth, of humanity. All aspects with which Oberst has dealt in an all too public way over the last year. Oberst isn’t done yet, and future albums will determine whether he remains an incredible talented songwriter who touched the lives of young people in his early career, or a musician who is universally lauded along the lines of the forefathers he has aimed to emulate.
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