Bright Eyes Set list

does anyone else really wish they were one of the extras in the audience for this video shoot?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC-_wpl4ZWw

I don't think its his responsibility to play what people "want" to hear. I went to this show with the intention of hearing his new stuff. The performance an artist gives with the stuff they want to play is more enjoyable than the half-hearted performance of a song they've played hundreds of times.

Agreed… Well put.

Originally posted by Graace:
I don't think its his responsibility to play what people "want" to hear. I went to this show with the intention of hearing his new stuff. The performance an artist gives with the stuff they want to play is more enjoyable than the half-hearted performance of a song they've played hundreds of times.

I disagree. If someone wants to be an "artist" let them go play in a room by themself. If someone has a paying audience, they should be obliged to at least attempt to make their audience happy.

Originally posted by azaghal1981:
Agreed… Well put.

Originally posted by Graace:
I don't think its his responsibility to play what people "want" to hear. I went to this show with the intention of hearing his new stuff. The performance an artist gives with the stuff they want to play is more enjoyable than the half-hearted performance of a song they've played hundreds of times.

I don't think its his responsibility to play what people "want" to hear. I went to this show with the intention of hearing his new stuff. The performance an artist gives with the stuff they want to play is more enjoyable than the half-hearted performance of a song they've played hundreds of times.

I generally agree with you. I do think bands/artists should be willing to meet people half way, though. I have been to quite a few shows and have never seen such an imbalance between new (unreleased) material and old material.

He seemed unhappy with the crowd last night and it was largely his own doing. It is not surprising that people were calling out for songs or acting pretty bored when they knew little of the new material.

It is his right to play what he wants. I certainly won't go to another Bright Eyes show in the months leading up to an album release. He is a great musician, but a poor entertainer.

On the Sunken Treasure DVD, Tweedy devotes a few minutes to discussing coming to terms with the fact that people come to shows to hear songs that they know and love. He said that it has made him a much happier person and has really improved their/his shows. I assume Conor will learn the same thing at some point.

Originally posted by Jack Black, Caucasian American:
I disagree. If someone wants to be an "artist" let them go play in a room by themself. If someone has a paying audience, they should be obliged to at least attempt to make their audience happy.

I don't mean "artist" artist, I meant [recording] artist. People can go make "art" all by themselves. I think that performers do have an obligation to deliver what is advertised, which he did. This tour is a warm-up for the release of his album. Obviously it is going to focus on newer material. He explained to the audience that the band hadn't even rehearsed half the songs they were calling out. It's very typical of him especially to concentrate on one set of material at a time. On the Digital Ash Tour show I saw, he played one song not off that album. Similarly for the I'm Wide Awake . . . tour, if I remember correctly. Only when he wasn't touring around an album release (November 2005) did he really jump around his catalog.

He's calmed down a lot, the band was great, the sound is going in a new direction, and I enjoyed it.

Originally posted by allmy$to930:

He seemed unhappy with the crowd last night and it was largely his own doing. It is not surprising that people were calling out for songs or acting pretty bored when they knew little of the new material.

I would have been unhappy with the crowd as well. After having your shouts politely ignored most people give up after a while. I heard "Poison Oak" yelled time after time after time.

And while shows can be boring when the material is foreign, it can be exciting to hear things for the first time live. I thought he dispersed enough familiar songs throughout the set to keep people engaged, and that some of the new stuff was just fantastic. Sonic Youth, a band with a more extensive and well loved back catalog than Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst, played almost exclusively from Rather Ripped this summer.

Feelings on the opener? I thought the music was pleasant enough but that Wooden Wand's "banter" was grating. I didn't think either was anything really special.

I would have been unhappy with the crowd as well. After having your shouts politely ignored most people give up after a while. I heard "Poison Oak" yelled time after time after time.

Suggested Response: "I have heard your request for Poison Oak. I am sorry to disappoint you but we will not be playing that song tonight. In fact, we won't be playing any requests. We are excited about our new material and hope you enjoy it."

Yeah but that reply would've been trite and boring. His smart-ass response was funny and justified.

soooo does anyone have the set list?

Originally posted by azaghal1981:
Yeah but that reply would've been trite and boring. His smart-ass response was funny and justified.

Plus I don't think he would be able to string that many words together into a sentence.

Yeah but that reply would've been trite and boring. His smart-ass response was funny and justified.

…and completely ineffective.

Originally posted by allmy$to930:

Yeah but that reply would've been trite and boring. His smart-ass response was funny and justified.

…and completely ineffective.

And a polite response would have been?

And a polite response would have been?

I think it would have been effective. Poison Oak dude was never told directly that he wouldn't get to hear his beloved song. I don't think the guy was trying to be a heckler…I think he just wanted to hear the song.

Were you the Poison Oak guy by any chance?

I thought all the new songs sounded excellent, and I agree that it's important for him to play the new material. But I think the setlist last night would have been more appropriate for a night AFTER the release of the album. I loved hearing the new songs but also would have liked to hear a few more that I knew. I think that is one of the major reasons why the crowd wasn't too into it– people just didn't know what he was playing.

So most of the crowd didn't download a leaked
copy of the new EP? ;)

I really enjoyed the show, despite the lack of older, recognizable material. Conor is my favorite singer/songwriter (as cliche as that may sound), so I pretty much enjoy anything he does. It didn't matter that I was unfamiliar with the songs he was playing. And yes, I think we saw a much different side of Bright Eyes last night, and a much different side of Conor. I remember thinking a number of times throughout the show that they were really rocking out, and that that was something I'd never really seen from them before. I think that the setlist was pretty well put together, too. There were periods of intense energy, broken up by quieter songs here and there. I really enjoyed seeing Rachel on drums, and I've never seen anyone rock a violin like Anton did (with the possible exception of the violinist for The Frames).

As for the openers, I enjoyed McCarthy Trenching, and thought that Wooden Wand were just okay.

Originally posted by allmy$to930:

And a polite response would have been?

I think it would have been effective. Poison Oak dude was never told directly that he wouldn't get to hear his beloved song. I don't think the guy was trying to be a heckler…I think he just wanted to hear the song.

If artists took the time to inform every person who shouted out for a song that they wanted to hear that they weren't going to play that song, it would get old pretty damn fast. I would like to think that most people are aware that bands usually decide on setlists in advance and practice those songs, and that in most cases (there are exceptions), calling out for a song is going to do absolutely no good. I would like to have heard "Trees Get Wheeled Away" myself, but I didn't shout it out half a dozen freaking times.

He pretty much toured nonstop for the entire year of 2005, including separate tours for Wide Awake and Digital Ash. During that year of touring, he fully showcased the new albums and played plenty of old stuff from Lifted and the like. After taking a year off and writing a bunch of new material, can you really blame him for wanting to play it?

Originally posted by allmy$to930:

Frankly, I think he's moved on as an artist since "Lifted."

That is a bizarre statement, seeing that he closed with "Make War" from Lifted.

Considering that that was the only song he played from Lifted the entire show (I think, there may have been a second), I'd say that there's nothing bizarre about that statement at all.

Originally posted by allmy$to930:
This is especially true when he is willing to play cover songs and allow a member of his band to play a song from a side project.

Just a slight correction here…Jake Bellows is not an actual member of Bright Eyes, and Neva Dinova is not a side project. I'd say that since Jake is taking time off from his own band to play with Bright Eyes, allowing him to play one of his songs was perfectly understandable. And Conor has been playing covers live for years.

Originally posted by Joe M.:
The best tour is still the Lifted tour with the mini-orchestra and Winona Ryder watching from the balcony…

Agreed. I saw them on that tour at the Showbox in Seattle, and that show remains to this day one of the best I have ever seen, definitely in my top five. Ah, for the days when Bright Eyes shows weren't packed with legions of screaming teenage girls…

Originally posted by Jack Black, Caucasian American:
Why does M. Ward have to associate with that little wanker? He's so above him!

Indeed. You should express your opinion to Matt. I'm sure that he would immediately see the light and agree with you, considering you know Conor so much better than he does. Jim James apparently sees something in him, too. What the hell is the matter with him?

Well done, Reod Dai. I don't think anyone has ever put so much effort into a single post.

Thanks for clearing up all of my erroneous statements.

You must not frequent forums where people have actual discussions, then. You'll notice that I only actually corrected one statement of yours. I was simply commenting on the rest, using quotes so people would know I was replying to something specific rather than just babbling. I'm used to people posting like that, but you're right, you don't see it much around here.