Bright Eyes, Somerville Theatre, February 28, 2007
By MELISSA POCEK | March 2, 2007
GOING FOR IT: What happened to sad little Conor from Omaha? |
Conor Oberst, lead man of Bright Eyes, took up playing shows at the age of 12, and he still looks like one of his young audience members, wearing black jeans, long stringy hair, and a pair of vegan (?) boots, but at 27 he’s become the definitive emo/folk rocker. And he’s come a long way from being an introverted solitary performer with an acoustic guitar. On Wednesday night, he and a diverse band played for a packed Somerville Theatre with talented, raspy-voiced opener M. Ward. With Ward joining the band after intermission, they played sets marked by Bright Eyes’ eclectic sound — seductively poetic story-telling songs with raw guitar licks and country charm.Oberst was backed by a mix of multi-instrumentalists. At one point drummer Janet Weiss (of Sleater-Kinney) took up the ukulele while Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott swapped their guitars for keyboards, violins, and even a French horn. The set was a mix that included everything from M. Ward songs to pieces from 2002’s Lifted to the forthcoming Casadaga (Saddle Creek, due April 10). And the surprisingly effusive Oberst kept encouraging the audience to applaud “my beautiful band.”
He ignored frequent yells by girls confessing their love for him and focused on more important things: “How’s the Big Dig — you still digging?” What happened to the sad eyed emo boy from Omaha? Instead, he danced, gave the guitar techs a hard time, then made up for it with a hug, and closed his set by passing his band mates’ microphones to the audience for a sing-along of “la-la-la’s” during “Laura Laurent.” During their half-hour encore, Oberst squealed that the audience made him feel like Dolly Parton and declared his nostalgia for the Somerville, a venue he has performed at frequently since 2001. By the end of the encore, feedback and chaos reigned. Another difference from the old Bright Eyes.
Related:
Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, The man and the band, More
- Conor Oberst
It’s just an Omaha boy playing some good old country pop — for once.
- Bright Eyes
Too often, B-sides and rarities are B-sides and rarities for a reason. But Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst is one of those songwriters who’s as musically adventurous as he is prolific.
- The man and the band
Just as Bright Eyes is a vehicle for Conor Oberst, Aqualung is the name under which Matt Hales records.
- Emo to the core
What’s the latest sign that emo has become a true part of the musical mainstream?
- Two Gallants: Saddle Creek
Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel have long been trying for a sound that’s both earthy and artsy, Bright Eyes folk rock delivered with an aw-shucks squint.
- Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band | Outer South
"That's the thing about charisma," sings Conor Oberst in a song on his new, non–Bright Eyes release, Outer South. "It makes everyone believe."
- Indie springs forward
For years we waited. And then we started making jokes about it. And then the jokes got old. So we waited some more. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Love Song No. 7" (mp3)
- The week in boners
With his new album expected to hit #1 on the Billboard charts this week, I think (Nasty) Nas is getting a bit swell-headed.
- Two Gallants
It’s not difficult to figure out how Two Gallants, a band who borrow their name from the title of a James Joyce short story, wound up on Conor Oberst’s indie powerhouse Saddle Creek.
- Soft sells
Quiet is the new loud, pretty is the new rocking, and acoustic is the new electric. The Mountain Goats, "Woke Up New" (YouTube)
- Taking care of business
Boston is one of the healthiest markets for live roots music in the country. Here are the 10 roots shows we don't want to miss this fall.
- Less
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Dolly Parton, Janet Weiss, Sleater-Kinney, More
, Dolly Parton, Janet Weiss, Sleater-Kinney, Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Less