Bright Eyes - London Koko - 22/3/07
3/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Bright Eyes, a.k.a. the personification of Conor Oberst's wild imagination, have been since their formation the leaders of true song makers, and their music is noted as being some of the most central to modern writing. Releasing two albums on the same day back in 2005, the renowned 'Digital Ash...' and 'Wide Awake...' - both showing the different reaches of Conors' mind, demonstrated to the world that they're not a band bound by the manacles of conformity. The impact both albums had on a global market took Obersts' own label Saddle Creek into the public eye and has since reacted with releases from Two Gallants and Cursive.
Constantly being compared to as 'our generations Bob Dylan' Conor has been of major consequence within the hearts of all whom his music has touched. What he does is very American, and with a very prominent country like vibe - its part of his appeal, and it may be because of this that he's never really broken into the mainstream over here, whilst his US audience has grown exponentially over the past decade or so. This could be why his UK touring has, over the past few years, left a little to be desired. He has two shows to perform, one based around his rocking 'Digital' sound and the other pampering to his mellowed country works... but both shows have failed to make an appearance since his T in the Park performance in '05. Not surprising then, taking all this into account, that when Bright Eyes played a recent London date, it was tipped as one of the most anticipated dates on the music calendar and hordes of fans and members of the press alike circled the streets outside Koko for hours before in expectancy for what should prove to be a lifetime highlight.
The snag with any event this glorified in your own mind is that you're bound to place a certain amount of emotion on the line. When Conor stepped onto the stage it was like seeing a lost messiah being resurrected before your eyes and you bluntly couldn't believe that he was standing merely feet away, longhaired, guitar clutching and admiration inspiring. The fans heads pricked up and thousands stood in anticipation like a sea of meercats all devoted to a man who's seemingly stripped their souls bare and paraded their emotions in front of them with insight, poetry and ardour.
Some Bright Eyes fans have got so involved in Conor's music it's become something of a pestering love affair, and many have gone back in time as early as his infancy, absorbing songs like 'Lava Monster' and 'Sweden' into a sponge of material that boasts hundreds of songs, each individual yet maintaining a conformity in standards that's now a trademark of the Oberst name. Although a lot of his devotees have adopted this convoluted fascination and know every song inside out, the majority of the audience seemed to become restless and confused as the impact of Conor's entrance played way to a set list lacking in anything close to a 'hit'. With somebody like Bright Eyes, you can't expect a round off of singles, but to a certain degree it should almost be a given that no matter how non-conformist you are, you cater to the plenty and provide a backdrop of more well known tracks to absorb the people who haven't had the time or wherewithal to look as deeply into the treasure chest of material as others have.
The odd song was known by all and gathered the crowd together the way they should have been all night, but for the most part the set list had a closed door the majority of people lacing the boards of Koko couldn't break down. This created an atmosphere that a lot of people didn't belong here and fashioned a coat of apprehension that circulated the venue throughout. Like you would at any gig, as you walk in you're playing the show in your head and speculate like a child at Christmas what songs are going to be played. You take some numbers as a given, songs like 'Poison Oak', 'Road To Joy', 'Bowl Of Oranges' and 'Easy Lucky Free', but as the show continued on its mission of anonymity you lost hope that you'd hear a single song that made you fall in love with them as the band played one self-regarding song after the other. Nobody was expecting a hit parade, it's not in the character of the band and had they done that you'd lose some respect in a way, but as the act went on you got more and more gripped with the possibility of having a sing along with the stranger to your side.
Had Bright Eyes been touring more habitually, a show like this would have been fantastic and a great chance for people to find new songs but being their first, and only, date in about two years it seemed self indulgent and improvident. 'Four Winds' pulled back the attention, and as the mob relished this opportunity to let their hair down, Conor got really into a routine that until the new single's showing had started to become rigid, stripped and apathetic. Your love and respect turned into frustration and by the end of the show a man you once cherished seemed to have proverbially spat in your face as a fan proclaiming you an inadequate and worthless hanger-on of the band. Whether this is true or not, which we're sure it isn't, the fact the atmosphere suggested it is not an all together good thing and could have been avoided by wheeling out some more up-tempo or better recognized songs, or revealing anything of a connection towards the crowd.
The miscellany of songs and integration to the public aside, Conor's ability to deliver the music that meant so much to him is in no doubt. The higher level of intelligence that he can reach and maintain blows away any other songwriter operating today and his care for perfection is representation of his understanding of human existence with lyrics that cut right to the bone of passion, pulling at your heartstrings with desperation, anger and control. Every song Conor commenced turned into a closed eyed expression of craze and ardour that split the boundary of poet and song maker in a way only Conor can. 'Cassadaga' is the best Bright Eyes album yet, and it was unquestionably the newer material that stood out in an impatient fuss of lyrics. The stateliness of previous albums that sometimes dwarfed or overpowered the vocals (not including 'If Winter Ends' of course... "I scream for the sunlight!") isn't an issue on 'Cassadaga' as the weeping and grand engagements make way to a simpler, some would say poppier, structures that showcases a palatable array of tunes that's pioneering the world of music.
Bright Eyes may not be the best live band on Earth, but they're still one of the best to listen to and an unconditional must for song writing prowess. Conors' music isn't designed to be rough and ready rock 'n' roll to tweak the turnstiles of live venues, it's meant to be - and is - an expression of intelligence and perception... and by that judgement you can't fault his live performance of it. 'Cassadaga' is worth anybody's money and while it'll inspire a new wave of fans it won't disappoint the long timers out there still driven mad with lust for ten years of must-hear anti-anthems.
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