This was my third time seeing Bright Eyes, and ultimately the tie-breaking vote. The first time I saw him live, the show was really bad. This was several years ago, and since then I’ve learned that the problem was more or less 50% the management of the club and 50% how Conor reacted to it.
The second time I saw Bright Eyes was during the Vote for Change tour in Cleveland with R.E.M. and Springsteen. This show, they were great. So last night was my make-or-break situation as to whether I’d ever want to see the band live again.
I’m happy to report that I loved the show. This time out, Bright Eyes was a 10+ person band, completely with string section and two drumkits. While the set list leaned heavily towards the new work, I didn’t mind at all. Throw in an amazing set by Gillian Welch (who also performed a bunch of songs with Bright Eyes), and you have yourself one great show.
Here’s a bunch of photos, taken by our staff photographer Kim Rottmayer.
GILLIAN WELCH
i love the pictures man iv been looking on the computer all day for a few days for picture from the show on sunday thanks for posting these up on the saddle creek forum now i can get these printed off
This show was amazing. Never saw Bright Eyes before, had heard an earlier album and didn’t love it. Went to see Gillian and David, left rocked.