Bright Eyes @ Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa, OK) 5/12/07
If Johnny Cash was the Man in Black, Conor Oberst may be the Wunderkind in White. At least that might be an appropriate moniker following Bright Eyes’ Saturday performance in Tulsa. Dressed entirely in white, Conor & his large band delievered a country-tinged show with a setlist focused primarily on songs from his most recent album, Cassadaga. Despite being peppered with Wentz-groomed emo teens more interested in angst than honkytonkyin’, both the audience and the band were at Cain’s to have a good time.
Several years ago, I saw Bright Eyes’ headline a show in Dallas that was truly an unpleasant experience. Conor spent most of his time on stage chugging red wine directly from a bottle and spewing hate towards the audience about Texas and the current president. The show was brief and the performance awkward - the complete opposite of what I watched on Saturday. Conor appeared confident, kept stage banter to a minimum, and (dare I say) seemed to be enjoying himself.
The show opened with the quiet “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)” and each subsequent song proved that every band member and instrument on stage were there for more than just show. Perhaps nothing is more indicative of the raucous swell than the “Road to Joy” finale. When Conor shouted the final song’s lyric about making some noise, all present were more than happy to oblige his request. Check out the above video that I captured of that wild moment and see for yourself.
Also, here’s the setlist, a couple of pics, and a bonus track that Bright Eyes unfortunately did not play or include on Cassadaga.
MP3: Bright Eyes - Susan Miller Rag
SETLIST
01 “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)”
02 “Hot Knives”
03 “Four Winds”
04 “False Advertising”
05 “Middleman”
06 “First Day Of My Life”
07 “No One Would Riot For Less”
08 “If The Brakeman Turns My Way”
09 “The Calendar Hung Itself”
10 “Cleanse Song”
11 “Lime Tree”
12 “I Believe In Symmetry”
13 “Road to Joy”
- New Bright Eyes Video - “Hot Knives”
- Spoon @ Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa, OK) 9/29/07
- The Flaming Lips @ Diversafest/DFEST (Tulsa, OK) 7/27/07
Amazing show. I’m glad you got close enough to get that video. I guess the cloves worked?
And THIS is why I will heart you for-ev-ah….it’s perfect. You’re officially added to my favorites list, and I will begin sending in pics of random people holding I Heart Hypeful.Com signs….
I just caught the show in Austin, TX and some frat boy two rows behind me kept pissing off Conor. Awful.
@Matt: Yikes. I was at a Bright Eyes show in Ft. Worth, TX where he launched into (yet) another anti-Texas tirade and said that he even hated Austin. Not very cool…
[...] Wunderkind in White, Bright Eyes, has a new video out for “Hot Knives.” The video is a great representation [...]
i was at the tulsa show. and i am a HUGE bright eyes fan. i was like five feet from the stage. at the end of road to joy i was up against the rails and conor helds his guitar out over us and hit me in the head with it. or i hit my head on his guitar. either way road to joy was the best example of a live concert i have ever seen. the atmoshpere was something i have never felt before or since. it was a chaotic understanding between the crowd and the music. when he played no one would riot for less i was balling. the calender hung itself was great too. all and all best concert ive been to hands down!!
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