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When you get a group of musicians on stage, all with large personalities, and all used to fronting their own groups, the potential for disaster is not only apparent, but usually imminent. This was certainly the case on Saturday night, when indie-supergroup Monsters of Folk took the stage at the Palace Theatre in Louisville. Seeing how particularly Conor Oberst, Yim Yames, and M. Ward would interact was something that undoubtedly drew in a large chunk of the crowd. Also, let’s not forget, that Yames is the frontman of Louisville’s most successful band to date, My Morning Jacket.

I’m not surprised that I walked away from the show dumbfounded by the unpretentious nature of all the men on stage. Not once was there tension between or among any of the artists, and in fact, the group actually appeared to be a band in their own right. Rather than rehash everything from the evening, let me tell you the setlist was eye-poppingly long and enjoyable, taking some of the best moments from each man’s catalogs and weaving that with nearly every song from the new album released by the group. Despite switching instruments throughout the set, and each man taking time off during a song here or there, the group flowed through the evening seamlessly and with the precision of consummate musical professionals.

Especially impressive about the evening was the setting. The Palace is really one of the best places to witness a live musical event. With breathtaking architecture and gorgeous back-lighting, the stage is set up to awe and inspire. It certainly didn’t hurt that the men on stage, particularly Oberst and Ward, were holding the audience in the palm of their hands through several quieter solo numbers. I was particularly impressed with Ward’s ability to emote such magnificent passion through his guitar-playing. Not since seeing Yames’s guitar-licking counterpart in My Morning Jacket, Carl Broemel, have I felt that connected with the mentality, passion, and direction of a guitarist.

The climax of the night came with Yames’s “Smoking from Shootin” from My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges, easily the most anthemic song of the evening. In the spirit of the evening, the band came out after a 20-minute intermission in full KISS regalia, and closed with 40 minutes of fun and excitement. However, it was the 2 and ½ hours prior to this that truly showed the focus and precision that these musicians possess. While this may be a side project for these men, it certainly didn’t feel like it. The KISS statement showed externally that the men on stage lacked all pretention, but it was their movements, words, and cohesion throughout the first few hours that was the most impressive statement of the evening.

-Dave Tobias