Bright Eyes
Date: January 22, 2005 Certain How It's Gonna End Despite hearing tales of sloppy concerts past, Coachella 2004 had demonstrated to me that Bright Eyes could put on a decent show. Although I am not exactly a fan, I felt that Bright Eyes' latest visit to Montreal exceeded that desert performance, with Conor Oberst and his band sounding great all night and offering a few shining moments. With Tilly and the Wall reportedly missing their transportation to Montreal, CocoRosie handled the full warm-up duties. The two sisters who comprise the core of the group were joined by a beatboxing MC who spent most of his time seated between them, staring downwards. His sound effects added texture to the music; and he did provide one surprise late in the set by rising from his slouched position to deliver a few French raps. However, the overall tone was set by the sisters who were, in both instrumentation and vocals, extremely shrill. From start to finish, the band's sonics were very piercing; and I was happy to hear them wrap up. By contrast, the six-piece backing unit that Conor Oberst assembled maintained a warm, flowing sound, with a crispness that anchored the entire concert. With the exceptions of drummer Jason Boesel and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, the band was not particularly animated on stage; and the only stand-out individual moment came when Stefanie Drootin dropped her bass. However, their music consistently delivered, with layered guitars, keyboards, punctuating trumpet, and haunting pedal steel. The setlist was strongly weighted towards I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, one of two brand new Bright Eyes albums. Not being a knowledgeable fan, I did not recognize much of the set; but a spin through that album after the concert revealed that almost all of its songs were represented live. Highlights of the set included "Lua," "Train Under Water," "First Day of My Life," "Another Travelin' Song," "Land Locked Blues," "Poison Oak," "Bowl of Oranges," and "Method Acting." "When the President Talks to God," a sarcastic swing at George W. Bush, was very much on target. The absolute peak of the night, though, was its concluding song, "Road to Joy." The general mood of the concert had been controlled and mellow, with the band predominantly offering appropriately light touches while Oberst kept his tremulous voice in check. For this Beethoven nod, though, the band played with a ferocity that seemed to preemptively answer the rallying cry of, "Let's fuck it up, boys, make some noise." Of course, they managed to outdo themselves after that call; and, with Oberst matching the intensity of his band, the concert ended on a fantastic note. While I still cannot declare myself an ardent Bright Eyes fan, I was again impressed with their live showing. Touring in support of a stong new album gave this concert a focus that the band's Coachella stint lacked, making for a superior performance. <--Prev (Joel Plaskett Experience) | Next (Neko Case)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |