Magnolia Electric Co. @ The Wating Room

I would like to consider myself pretty well versed in the music world. With that being said, there never ceases to be artists out there that make you say, “why the hell haven’t I listened to this before?” And that brings us to Magnolia Electric Co. Up until last fall, I had no idea they existed. Thankfully at Voodoo Experience 2008, my newly met friend, Bacon, gave me a stack of must have discs. Among the stacks of Lil Wayne and various others, was the first disc from the Sojourner box set. I never gave it a chance until one day when I was listing to my music on shuffle at work (as I often do), and one of their tracks came on. I then proceeded to examine the entire album that day, instantly falling in love with the mellow bluesy sounds I was hearing.

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This prompted a little research into Magnolia and a trip to the music store to pick up a few more discs including some of front man Jason Molina’s previous act, Songs: Ohia. Molina seemed to have a common goal to produce album after album of amazing music, while never being classifiable into a genre. His original plans were to have a rotating cast of talented musicians with him as the center piece, giving all of his work a much different sound, under the Songs: Ohia name. Nevertheless, Molina finally found a good group of backing players to accompany him, eventually forming under the name Magnolia Electric Co. So needless to say, I was ecstatic to see they were playing in Omaha at the all-familiar Waiting Room. The night began with a couple of brief performances, including an acoustic set from Magnolia bassist Pete Schreiner and The Donkeys.

Entering the club, we were one of the few groups of folks who made it down at the posted start time. Shortly after, Schreiner made his way to the stage to perform some acoustic songs for the less than motivated audience. He is the newest addition to Magnolia, after the tragic death of Evan Farrell in 2008. Raspy may be an understatement for the vocals, but the act was quite fitting for the drinking crowd watching from a short distance. The grizzly looking Schreiner wasted little time between tunes, working through story after story in song while conversing with himself at times. About a half hour in, Schreiner finished quickly, and a short set break ensued.

The Donkeys hail from San Diego, CA. Coming out after Schreiner, they were quite the musical flip as they instantly busted into some upbeat jammy type songs. The young quartet prompted the light audience into a groove and brought many closer to the stage. Song after song was full of cheerful guitar riffs, key heavy tunes and hilarious stage banter, making the crowd feel right at home. This continued much in the same for the entire brief set. After the show, I was able to have a conversation with a couple of the band members. They were very down to earth, and seemed to love hopping town-to-town playing music for whoever would listen. In the short amount of time that was spent with the Donkeys, they seemed to woo the crowd over with ease, creating a much more positive atmosphere moving into the main act.

With the club filling in a bit more, Magnolia Electric Co. made their way to the stage. The recent release of their album, “Josephine”, insured that we would hear several of the tracks from that, which I have found quite enjoyable. I was interested to see how Molina’s unique vocals would pan out live. That was quickly answered, as Magnolia ripped through song after song sounding crisp and clean, as they fully deserve to. By this time, most of the audience present were up front and center, awaiting every note from the headlining artist.

The thing that interests me most about this group is the talent that each member has, and the ability they have to go any direction musically. Each album I have heard has had it’s own feel to it, provoking different emotions out of the listeners. The live show is quite the same, although going through the entire catalog provides you with enough material to get a feel for the different sounds they provide. Sometimes, without Molina’s signature voice, you would swear that another band had taken the stage. It takes a lot of talent to be able to do this, which has let Magnolia continue to do what they do best – providing wonderful music to whomever will lend an ear. This show also proved that they'll continually be fueling the soundtrack of my life for years to come!

See ya soon,
The Toastman