Led by songwriter Eric Earley, Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper have been making cosmic American music for two decades. Touring in support of their latest album, 100s of 1000s, Millions of Billions, they recently brought their psychedelic brand of country-rock to the Black Cat for an enthusiastic audience. 

The show harkened back to earlier days when shows were often later, with doors opening at eight, opening act Molly Parden playing at 8:45pm and Blitzen Trapper taking the stage at 10pm. They started with one of their new tunes, “Cosmic Backseat Education.” They spaced the songs from the new album throughout their set: the spooky “Dead God of the Green Arising” followed a cover of Gillian Welch’s “Miss Ohio,” for which they were joined on vocals by Parden. “Planetarium” and “Hello Hallelujah” came toward the end of the evening.

As Eric mentioned at Black Cat on Nov. 9, the last time Blitzen Trapper came to the region, they played the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. He said he was in awe of the 50-foot tall curtains, and he asked how many folks at the Black Cat had attended that previous show — and many had.

Stream 100s of 1000s, Millions of Billions by Blitzen Trapper on Bandcamp:

Blitzen Trapper kept it tight and focused on the music, with minimal chatter and a great selection of the best material from across their career. Of course, they played “Furr,” a coming of age tale, which is probably their best-known (and most well-loved song), as well as the title track from the next year’s Black River Killer EP, a very different kind of song.

Watch the official music video for “Furr” by Blitzen Trapper on YouTube:

There was the the wonderful weirdness of “Astronaut” and “Sleepytime in the Western World,” and the caustic “Not Your Lover,” a study in contrasts with “So Divine.” They also played “Lady On The Water” and closed out the main set with “Thirst,” returning for their encore to play “Devil’s A-Go-Go” and “Requiem.”

New York singer-songwriter Molly Parden took the train down to open the show. She started off by saying she was going to play a harmony set, and she invited anyone who wanted to to jump on stage with her and sing lead. Though she repeated this offer later in her set, no one took her up on it, which might’ve been for the best. She started with “Bolting Volts,” followed by “Cigarette,” then “Sail on the Water,” which she called “my angry song.” She dedicated “Kitchen Table” to anyone “who has a kitchen table.” “Everybody Laughs,” she explained, is about Instagram Stories, and how stupid it is to see who’s watched your stories.” “Where Do Our Vanishing Days Go?” is based on the title of a novel by the Irish author John O’Donahue. Molly finished up with “Dandy Blend.”

Molly has a great voice, and especially enjoyed when she joined the band for the duet on “Miss Ohio.” Blitzen Trapper were tight, but just trippy enough to be a little out there, which keeps it fresh and fun.

Here are some photos of Blitzen Trapper performing at Black Cat on Nov. 9, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.