Bright Eyes to Light Up Bass Hall May 13

In Austin, all the malt shops, arcades, bowling allies, drive-ins and wherever else the hip kids hang out these days will be empty May 13th. Instead, they’ll all be gathered at Bass Concert Hall with their hearts in hand ready to give them freely to Bright Eyes indie folk heartthrob Conor Oberst. He’s now become a coveted American musical icon, and thanks in part to the media, we have watched him mature through breakups and lyrical jabs at the president.

Bright Eyes’ recently released Cassadaga is the next step in his gradual musical evolution to a sound that’s a lot more country/folk than the lo-fi, trembling and exposed rock of Fevers and Mirrors. The same powerfully poetic imagery is present, but now it’s centered more around politics and religion than falling in love with ghosts. Oberst did, however, manage to maintain his fascination with the supernatural, naming his newest album after a community of spiritualists in Central Florida. The new songs swirl with glorious orchestral arrangements and honky tonk fiddlers, and there are a
number of love songs present to surely inspire a swoon or two.

Brooklyn’s Oakley Hall, named for the author of American western novels, is sure to fill their opening slot with country folk songs via male-female harmonies. And McCarthy Trenching, one of the artists on Oberst’s Team Love label, will bring the acoustic bar song Americana.

Although the show doesn't happen until May 13, we are more than pleased to tell you all about it now, and give you a chance to secure your pair of tickets for what will undoubtedly be a sold-out performance.

Contributed by William Mills

Bright Eyes w Oakley Hall and McCarthy Trenching
Sunday, May 13
Bass Concert Hall
8 PM
$25-28 (tickets)

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Paige Maguire in Arts & Entertainment on April 24, 2007 11:21 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

el tb

how did this album go from "bad myspace poetry" to "powerfully poetic imagery" and "glorious orchestral arrangements" in a couple of weeks?

Bob

Without Texas, Austin is San Jose, California. It is the laid back Texas vibe that makes the town unique. Otherwise, it's just another white tech town.

Since John is saying it's ok to generalize...please, keep all Muslims away from me, for I fear that they may kill me. Same goes for blacks. I live in Austin and all I know of them from TV and newspapers is that the blacks are violent. I would rather put a gun in my mouth than live near either of those groups.

John too

John, you didn't actually hear what Conor said in Fort Worth and therefore don't know the context. I haven't seen the TX Monthly article you're quoting from, all I know is heresay so I'm not going to pillory him for a drunken comment about a state in general. I'm just telling you I was at the Austin show and he was very cool with us; the "warped state" comment was MINE, not his. Here's another comment of mine: Houston is a swampy hellhole with some of the worst traffic imaginable that I'd like to avoid returning to for the rest of my life, and much of this state is full of self-important lunatics. That being said, if any of those lunatics want to give me their money I'll gladly take it. Now go pick on Morrissey since he's also afraid of the nutjobs who give our state such an outstanding reputation yet still comes to perform here. The music world is full of hypocrites, we need you to point them all out for us! Blah.

Afraid

Bright Eyes will eat your colon!

Ryan

I think John's right; we should declare Oberst an enemy combatant and throw him in Guantanamo since he is blatantly giving comfort to our enemies with his comments about Texas. Or we could just give him the lethal injection while he’s still awake. Our great state is really good at that I hear.

ryssno

Yes, he did just that at the Ft. Worth show. Only to prove that every celebrity thinks they're a political leader. Shut up and sing!

John

Whatever, so he likes Austin, I call him ignorant because it is ignorant to generalize about a whole state, assuming that because the president was from here we're all a bunch of conservatives eager to send everyone to the gallows. That comment is like this guy that I knew from Kansas who said he'd never come to Texas, especially Austin, because it's the heart of all sin, and imagines everyone being put up for execution who commits a petty crime. It just disgusts me that he can just say something like that, and pigeonhole us all into one, uninformed category.

Even if he made comments about how much he liked Austin...in a very warped state? I still take offense to that, I lived in Houston for a long time, and didn't think it was especially "warped." That's just lame if he's going to try to qualify his remarks to the audience in Austin, "your state sucks, but you're different! (but I'm still playing the other cities...)"

Oberst is still playing Dallas on this tour. He apparently likes our state enough to take our money.

John also

Yes, Conor was drunk and said some comments about the state when he played Fort Worth back in January 2005, right at the height of depression over our former guv'nr winning/stealing the election yet again. Who wouldn't be disgusted at that point, and in cowtown no less? He played La Zona Rosa the very next night and was very complimentary about Austin as being a wonderful pocket of decency in a very warped state. He also played again at Stubbs that summer with no incident. I've lived in Austin for 21 years, and while I love my adopted hometown I can't say I'm very thrilled with the ridiculousness the rest of Texas embraces myself. Get over yourself if you feel personally offended because someone isn't thrilled to see dimwits still tooling around with "W" stickers on their cars.

John

Didn't Oberst say something like "I fucking hate your state, I'd rather put a gun in my mouth than live here" at a show in Ft. Worth a couple years ago? I think I read about it in Texas Monthly.

If he doesn't like Texas, he can get the hell out of our state. I don't think we should support someone so blatantly ignorant about something like that.