Midway through Monster of Folk’s sprawling two-hour-and-45-minute set Sunday (10/18) at the Greek Theatre, singer/guitarist Jim James thanked the crowd for being so respectful during the band’s performance. “Folk music shows can be confusing sometimes because sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s quiet,” James said, with his tongue perhaps partially in cheek.

Monsters of Folk [ tickets ] are the indie supergroup that includes James of My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes’ singer-songwriter Conor Oberst and multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, as well as singer/songwriter M. Ward. At the Greek, the quartet--augmented by drummer Will Johnson of Centro-matic--played some traditional folk. Yet, the group also cranked out the brand of “folk” their spiritual forefather Bob Dylan invented nearly 45 years ago when he raised a ruckus by plugging in and going electric at the Newport Folk Festival. It was that musical yin and yang, as well as the various solo spots and unique pairings of musicians and instruments, that made this date on M.O.F.’s first official tour a challenging, yet ultimately rewarding experience.

Advanced word on the show warned that there would be no opening act. M.O.F. would hit the stage promptly at 7:30 p.m. and perform for three hours with no intermission. That’s a pretty lofty agenda for a band with only its recently released, 15-song, self-titled effort under its belt, but then again M.O.F. isn’t just any act. James, Oberst, and Ward all have thriving careers with their respective bands and solo excursions. Mogis is an in-demand producer and session player. The quartet’s name is a play on Monsters of Rock, the long-running festival that featured some of hard rock's biggest acts. In a sense, Monsters of Folk’s live show was like a mini-festival, since the crowd was treated to solo performances by all of the principal players, but it was when all four besuited players were on stage together that they shined the brightest.

One such highlight came in the form of “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.),” a gorgeous slice of electro-soul that had the Monsters trading verses in a tune so sweet it could inspire Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and John Lennon to smile down from the heavens. The songs with James on lead vocals, including a stunning take of M.M.J.’s “Golden” and the set-closing “His Master’s Voice,” drifted into a dreamy, psychedelic-soul netherworld, with occasional gospel tinges. The Oberst-sung material, including Bright Eyes’ “Soul Singer in a Session Band” and M.O.F.’s “Man Named Truth,” had more bite, as he spit out his lyrical venom like a young Dylan. Ward bridged the gap between the two, drawing his inspiration from ’50s rockabilly rebels and crooners in songs like M.O.F.’s set-opening “Say Please” and the dreamy “Slo Down Jo.”

One of the more rewarding aspects of the evening was watching M.O.F.’s members in support roles. That’s nothing new for Mogis (the unsung hero of the set with his brilliant pedal steel, mandolin, and guitar work) and Ward (who has also gained notoriety for his work with singer/actress Zooey Deschanel in She & Him). Yet, it’s something different for James and Oberst. It was a joy to watch Oberst sing lead and hear James’ howling backing vocals mesh with Mogis’ whining pedal steel and later see Oberst bash away on piano, while interjecting well-timed backing vocals.

M.O.F. has been compared to the Traveling Wilburys and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which are convenient pairings given the all-star line-up, but this generation’s supergroup hasn’t had the cultural impact of its predecessors, either with their own projects or together. That’s not to say that M.O.F. didn’t occasionally reach such great artistic heights live, but it exists in a world that is so fragmented, it’s extremely difficult for any act to crossover into the mainstream consciousness. And that’s a pity, because at the Greek, Monsters of Folk performed with the potential to cross generational and cultural divides.