One thing is for sure. The Bright Eyes show I saw Tuesday night at the Fox Theater was an entirely different experience from the last show in 2005. It was much less indie and a lot more rock. I had a great seat in the second row of the top balcony. (I think my days of GA are over at that venue. Sitting was so nice.) I love the interior so much.

I had loud neighbors (story of my life) through the whole show, especially distracting in the beginning, but by the time “Hot Knives” was played, I was well-immersed and forgot them. It felt as though I was hearing some songs for the first time. He introduced “Hot Knives” as the story of a woman’s mid-life crisis, one that would leave her changed forever. And he dedicated “Poison Oak” to anyone who had ever had the f-word (not fuck) shouted at them from a passing truck. You can imagine a Bay Area crowd especially responded to this illustration. People all around were shushed as he started to sing that song. It painted such a vivid scene for the lyrics and reminded me what an incredible songwriter he continues to be.

Anton Patzner happened to be around so he was invited on stage for some songs from Cassadaga, since he recorded it with them. That was cool.

Conor’s voice has matured so much that “Bowl of Oranges” sounded reborn. Listening to the album version right now makes the song seem so “soft”. Following “Padriac My Prince” came another song, “Cartoon Blues (YouTube)”, which he called “a continuation”. I’d never heard it, but it’s great, especially in the context he presented it.

The time neared when I needed to run to catch BART so I could get home at a reasonable time. I was almost out the door when I heard the opening part of “Ladder Song” and I just had to stay. It’s such a gorgeous song and I wish I hadn’t needed to keep checking the time. I literally took off running after the last line. I left at 11PM, apparently missing the 4-song encore, but it was still midnight when I got home. I just couldn’t stay any longer. It was a really gorgeous note to end the night on though. I’m glad I went to the show. He sampled across so many albums and it inspired me to break them out on the ride home and the next day at work.

Oh, and the opener was Farmer Dave Scher. Conor said I would have no regrets if I picked up his album, but in my rush, I just didn’t get a chance. The part of his set I saw was good, though, so I need to look him up.

Setlist

  1. Firewall
  2. Jejune Stars
  3. Take It Easy (Love Nothing)
  4. Four Winds
  5. Cleanse Song
  6. Something Vague
  7. Trees Get Wheeled Away
  8. Shell Games
  9. Approximate Sunlight
  10. Arc of Time
  11. Triple Spiral
  12. Hot Knives
  13. An Attempt to Tip the Scales
  14. Padraic My Prince
  15. Cartoon Blues
  16. Poison Oak
  17. Bowl of Oranges
  18. Old Soul Song
  19. The Calendar Hung Itself
  20. Ladder Song
  21. Encore:
  22. Gold Mine Gutted
  23. Lover I Don’t Have to Love
  24. Road to Joy
  25. One for You, One for Me