By Chris Riemenschneider

No wonder there wasn't an opening act last night at the Orpheum Theatre. Monsters of Folk -- Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and M. Ward (M. Ward), with drummer Will Johnson (Centro-Matic) -- wound up playing almost exactly three hours, amounting to a mountainous 35-song set list. With that much blur-inducing quantity, it's hard to break everything down qualitativey. But that's why us highly trained critics take notes. See the full review at www.startribune.com/music.

Per my scribbling, the highlights included Ward's solo turn on "One Hundred Million Years" and his full-on-rocking renditions of "Vincent O'Brien" and "To Save Me," both of which he delivered from behind the piano. Except for those songs, the show didn't really get rocking/noisy until close to the end, and that's when James came alive, primarily during "Losin' Yo Head" and "Smokin' From Shootin'." Most of the Oberst-led songs from MOF's albums were pretty much dullards, especially "Temazcal," but the Omaha song stud dazzled the crowd with Mogis at his side for the bevvy of Bright Eyes tracks, a few more than he's playing in other cities. All three singers and Johnson, too, took turns on the verses of "Bottom of Everything," which was really magical, as was Oberst's co-handling of "Smokin' From Shootin'."

The guys made a few different loving shout-outs to our fine city. After Ward and James delivered "Outta My Head" together, James said, "Oh, Minneapolis, you sure know how to treat a lady," and Ward added, "That's why we all play here just about every year." However, James went on to hilariously talk about how freaked out he was by the Chambers Hotel, presumably its trendy aesthetic. "It's really f---ed up," he said. Oberst, meanwhile, dedicated "We Are Nowhere and It's Now" to longtime road manager Bill Sullivan, who also runs the 400 Bar, where Oberst said he wrote the song "backstage or in the parking lot or somewhere there." But, he quipped about Bill, "I assume he's gone by now." At least the rest of the crowd was with them till the end.

Here's the full (and admittedly geeky) breakdown of who played what with whom:

Say Please / The Right Place / Soul Singer in a Session Band+ / Man Named Truth / Slow Down Jo / Smoke Without Fire+ / One Hundred Million Years^ (Ward solo) / Poison Cup^ / Golden* / Baby Boomer / Bermuda Highway* / Look at You* (JJ solo) / Ahead of the Curve / Vincent O'Brien^ / Outta My Head^ (MW and JJ only) / Wonderful (The Way I Feel) / I Will Be There When You Die* (JJ and CO) / Dear God (Sincerely MOF) / Temazcal / To Save Me^ / Goodway / Lullabye + Exile^ (CO and MW) / Lime Tree+ (CO and JJ) / We Are Nowhere and It's Now + (CO and MM) / The Big Picture+ (CO and MM) / Bottom of Everything (We Must Sing)+ / The Sandman, Brakeman and Me / Map of the World / Smokin' From Shootin'* / Hit the Switch+ / Losin' Yo Head

ENCORE: At Dawn* / Whole Lotta Losin' / Another Travelin' Song / His Master's Voice

+=Bright Eyes song ^=Ward solo track *=MMJ