I won't profess to being an expert at writing reviews but I figured this one is kind of overdue. The gig was over a week ago now, and Mr Journalism is always too tired when he gets home from work. So here goes.
The first of two nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire for Mr Oberst and friends. Back in April when I ordered these tickets I still actually liked Cassadaga a bit. Now I've seriously gone off it and the weather last Tuesday seemed to realise this. After getting caught in the most ridiculous summer storm en route we arrived, rather soggy and disheveled just before Bright Eyes took to the stage. Maybe this added nothing to my enjoyment of the evening, but the lack of atmosphere in the place certainly didn't help either. Maybe I'm just so used to the craziness of, say, Biffy Clyro fans that I expected more anticipation from the crowd, but I definitely thought there would be more noise. A great cheer greets the band as they come on stage, and the usual cheers and applause after each perfectly executed song, but there was something lacking, both on stage and in the audience. The crowd seemed to be so in awe of the Nebraskan boy wonder that they just stared stupified at him in between each song, waiting breathless to see what would come next. And what inevitably would come next was yet another song from Cassadaga. OK so you would expect this, most bands do rely heavily on their newest material when playing live shows, but the Bright Eyes back catalgue is so extensive I had hoped for a bit more of the good old stuff. Old favourites like First Day Of My Life and The Calendar Hung Itself were buried so deeply among Cassadaga bobbins that some older fans (not just me) felt Conor was maybe just going through the motions. Minimal chat between songs and then straight into another new one. The highlight of the set was definitely the encore of Gold Mine Gutted, Southern State and At The Bottom Of Everything. But even that final track, so simply written, lacked that special live flourish that makes Bright Eyes so special. In fact, most of the set was so polished you could almost believe it wasn't live at all. Which is one of the reasons why I'm so anti-Cassadaga. Bring back wobbly voiced, acoustic Conor! All in all, quite a disappointing evening.
Set List:
Clairaudients
Hot Knives
Middleman
First Day Of My Life
Four Winds
Make A Plan To Love Me
No One Would Riot For Less
The Calendar Hung Itself
Soul Singer In A Session Band
I Won't Ever Be Happy Again
Lime Tree
I Believe In Symmetry
Gold Mine Gutted
Southern State
At The Bottom Of Everything
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