Conor Oberst is downright dirty. Nasty chord progression muddied with countrified vocals and folksy rhythm make you want to scrunch up your face and get down right along with them.

I was in the middle of this face-wrinkling reaction when I realized I was packed in on all four side with no personal space and nowhere to go. I thought to myself, "Chill, its cool. Claustrophobia isn't really real." But as my breathing began to slow, a huge pack of high schoolers rammed right into my area, pushing me onto my neighbor and he on to his, falling like dominos. 

Yeah, I began to freak out. 

No longer was Conor on the stage singing sweet melodies in my ear, but instead, gurgling a raging mesh of nightmarish sounds that penetrated my skull making me feel like I was suffocating.

Then Jenny Lewis came on stage. 

Shocking, surprising and somewhat calming, I began to forget that I was being trampled. As she started singing "Bad News" and Conor Oberst and the band began to harmonically chime in, the music completely numbed my irritation, peevishness and panic. I was enthralled. Lewis is not only an amazing musician, but she understands how to use music as a tool. As she ministered to the crowd, and we all stop pushing each other long enough to slightly sway and sing along, Oberst and the band cooled down the Scene with soft percussion and light strums. 

These guys were good. Not only by playing did they draw such a massive crowd, but by their message, their emotion and energy did people find such soothing comfort in their sound. 

In the end, I was glad I had been packed like a sardine. I even made a couple of friends out of it ;)