First Avenue was crowded and sweaty last night, both with good cause. Conor Oberst and his Bright Eyes troupe took to the stage for the first show of a two-night stand, one that saw him celebrate highlights of his young but expansive career & catalog.
Titus Andronicus expectedly tore through their opening set, mixing punk energy with folky empathy, all while having a damn good time up on the stage (one that they could headline in a heartbeat if The Current gave them the kind of airplay reserved for bands that don't embody half the energy as Titus Andronicus). Throughout their 40-minute set, the New Jersey natives displayed the kind of verve that veteran bands would envy, all while bouncing around with looks of sheer fun-loving gratitude (especially guitarist/violinist Amy Klein, who I'm pretty sure didn't stop moving during their entire set). Existing fans were more than pleased, while new ones were instantly created.
With the kind of energy swirling the room during Titus Andronicus' set, it would be easy to think that Bright Eyes would have to kick it up a notch just to keep pace...and that's exactly what happened. As the house lights dimmed, we were given "Firewall," the curious spoken word to glimmering soundscape that launches the new record, The People's Key. Immediately following this build-up of an opener, Oberst & company launched in to the always crowd-pleasing "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)," which had the packed house hanging on every word. The quick 1-2 punch of "Haile Selasse" and "Jejune Stars" followed, proving that even with his new songs, Oberst could enrapture his fans in a moment's notice. As the new songs raged, so did the stage show, our eyes being offered a stunning mix of deliberately futuristic lighting and pseudo-camera work that projected some scrappy guitar images on the digital backdrop.
As Oberst settled in to a groove, we were treated to a guessing-game of Bright Eyes highlights. Their entire catalog was explored throughout the set, and even for those of us that peaked at the band's set lists from prior dates on this tour, there was no way to tell what was going to be played next. "Trees Get Wheeled Away" and "Approximate Sunlight" were especially intriguing, while "Hot Knives" and the new "Shell Games" provided for two of the night's many highlights. Throughout the course of the 20-song main set, Oberst only hit a few bumps, and that could be attributed more to the increasingly [temperature] hot room mixed with dipping into his one true love, French red wine...as he put it, "something good."
After we were presented the highly-underrated "A Machine Spiritual (In The People's Key)," Oberst dedicated "Old Soul Song" to Michelle Bachmann, referring to the waste-of-space politician as "reptilian," prompting some hearty cheers from the still-alert crowd. The set ended not with "Lua" (which was expected), but rather with the subtle and sweet "First Day of My Life." Oberst walked off the stage to a booming ovation and only paused briefly before he and his fellow band mates gave us a stunning encore, consisting most notably of an in-your-face version of "Road to Joy," appropriate as we were taken through a welcome journey of Oberst's career the entire evening.
During the encore, Oberst noted that he would be doing his first DJ set at another Minneapolis club (which anyone on Twitter knew to be The 400 Bar) after the show concluded. I decided to make the trek, and for the most part, it was forgettable. Oberst coyly took to the small DJ booth shortly after 1:00 AM and proceeded to spin everything from The Cure to Kurt Vile to Cyndi Lauper. He seemed about 16 sheets to the wind, using the equipment stacks as support as he graciously took photos with the small group of fans that followed him (and Titus Andronicus) to the West Bank bar. I hope he was able to get some sleep last night, because another full crowd will be on hand at First Avenue tonight to witness the Bright Eyes spectacle.
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