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SHOW REVIEW: Bright Eyes and Cursive

Posted by: Necci – Mar 15, 2011

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Bright Eyes and Cursive
Sunday, March 6 at The National

I found there to be a lot to consider as I ventured to catch Bright Eyes and Cursive this past Sunday. With the release of The People’s Key, this tour would act as a farewell for the Bright Eyes name. I considered how much of an achievement it has been for the group to reach the pinnacles they have throughout the years. Whether that was Conor Oberst appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno dressed in a red cowboy suit singing “When The President Talks to God,” or performing alongside Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe on the Vote for Change tour in 2004, the group has become much more than an independent music afterthought. The rattling voice of Oberst was at first considered abysmal and prone to causing headaches. Now, there is a wonderful exuberant quality that is considered more endearing than anything else. Bright Eyes is name synonymous with progressive change; they kept their style innovative, and forever changed the way music was released and played.

If this were to be the last Bright Eyes tour, they certainly did not take such a thing lightly. Before Cursive took the stage, a friend of mine at the National informed me that the stage was ridiculously cramped for the evening’s upcoming festivities. There were several visual components that would be play at play throughout the set. My initial excitement was to just see Bright Eyes at all. Now, it appeared that the show might be just as memorable for the theatrics the group would place into motion.

All I could think when Cursive started playing was, “Aren’t Cursive just grand.” I still absolutely adore Domestica and The Ugly Organ. Even if Happy Hollow and Mama, I’m Swollen failed to win me over to the same extent, they are still impressive installments to their catalog. The one and only time I had seen them before was many years ago at Alley Katz alongside The Blood Brothers. The night prior, I had spoken to a friend about how I was going to see Cursive. She spoke of how those shows from the past were so great. As much as she would love to see them again, something led her to believe that the band might never be capable of recreating that experience for her. I thought about this as the group dabbled with songs from across their discography. I really enjoyed their set and it made me regret passing up opportunities to see the band in the past couple of years. I even found myself enjoying selections from Happy Hollow in a live environment more than I had in their recorded capacity. I did miss the lack of a cello accompaniment on tunes from The Ugly Organ. I couldn’t help but grin when they broke out “The Lament of Pretty Baby.” I was excited when they did “A Gentleman Caller,” even if I felt it’s appearance in the set was a bit premature (it’s such a great closer, particularly with vocal accompaniment by both singers from the Blood Brothers). After Cursive’s set, I went home and replayed all of their records. I haven’t stopped and I don’t plan on doing so any time soon. Even if their recent creative output isn’t as solid as their past efforts, you still cant deny that Cursive really kills it live, and I would love it if they made an effort to come by Richmond more frequently.

The lights dimmed and the voice of Denny Brewer projected throughout the theatre. His opening monologue also opens The People’s Key. He speaks of alien civilizations, how everything comes from a place of love, and quandaries that we all will encounter eternally. As the first lines of “Firewall” were uttered, lights emanating from the stage flowed from all directions. It was quite the spectacle. There was also an LCD projection unit constructed behind the band that displayed 8-bit imagery. The imagery flowed in a given color scheme as video was fed to the screen from cameras across the stage. The images spanned from torso views of Oberst as he played guitar, or Mike Mogis’ multi-instrumental set-up on stage left, or overhead views of the many keyboards. It was enthralling and made the entire live experience incredible.

I had no idea what to expect from their setlist. There was definitely a focus on the new album, but the group found time to throw in favorites from Fevers and Mirrors, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, Lifted, and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Even with the intrinsic sonic differences between each of these records, every selection flowed seamlessly throughout the night. “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” felt right at home beside “Poison Oak,” as did “Hot Knives” performed right next to “An Attempt to Tip The Scales.” Songs like “Shell Games,” “Triple Spiral” and “Four Winds” really played to the strengths of Bright Eyes’ recent output. All of these are songs from the last two records that I have appreciated, but really thought that they were meant to be heard in auditoriums.

One of the biggest surprises for me was how energetic Oberst was throughout the evening. He has acquired a reputation for throwing a few temper tantrums in past shows. I remember one particular incident where he told an audience to shut up as they sang along to his songs. Tonight was definitely not like this at all. The louder approaches found on Cassadega and The People’s Key lent themselves to the band rocking out a bit more. What really surprised me was the way Oberst performed more electronic fare from Digital Ash In A Digital Urn. He would run around the stage with just a microphone. There were moments when he would turn to face the lights illuminating the stage and I felt as if I saw him channeling Nick Cave.

The first set ended with “Ladder Song,” which was perfect. This song resonated with me on the record. It sounded incredible live, with Oberst sitting at the helm of a keyboard as an entire audience paid very close attention to every word he uttered. The band returned to the stage to play a four-song encore. If I had any criticism for the show, it would be this. As the band performed “Road to Joy” after “Something Vague,” it felt like the perfect way to call it a night. “Road to Joy” concludes with an impeccable freak-out of noisy instrumentation that just begs to be a closer. It was all this and even more. However, in a move that wasn’t all that surprising, the band decided to finish the night with the last song on The People’s Key. It’s not a terrible song, but it seemed to miss the mark of closing the night, in the way that the song prior had accomplished.

The house lights came on and I realized that this, the first time I would see Bright Eyes, was also perhaps the last. Retiring the namesake of Bright Eyes with the show I had just witnessed felt like a perfect finale. They took a group that began with Oberst performing solo in basements and coffeeshops, and transformed it into a larger than life stage show. I just read that Bright Eyes will be making their way to Wolf Trap in June with M. Ward, so I may have one more opportunity to catch the band. I must admit that I will be making it imperative to be at that show as well. The show on Sunday was too good, and I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to Bright Eyes yet.

Words by Shannon Cleary Images by Joanna Moreno


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