BRIGHT EYES & CURSIVE Live at The Astro! Review / Live Clips & Photos (VIDEO)

This week's video is my review of the recent Bright Eyes and Cursive show at The Astro Theater. I've seen both of these bands, individually, many times over the years -- but never on the same bill. The two bands were wrapping up their tour together with a show in their joint hometown of Omaha.

The history of these two bands dates back to the mid 90s; that history was on display as each band joined the other onstage for some very special performances.

BRIGHT EYES and CURSIVE at The Astro, Omaha, NE 4/27/25 (PHOTOS)

It was a bit of an old school Omaha rock scene reunion on April 27 at The Astro as old buddies Bright Eyes and Cursive ended their joint tour with a hometown show.

 

Cursive played an amzing set; it was actually better than when I saw them a few months ago at Waiting Room. Back then, the band did two nights and each night they performed a separate album in its entirety. This set was more career inclusive. Everything from "Shallow Means, Deep Ends" to songs from the band's most recent, Devourer.

Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes joined Cursive on stage

Conor joined Cursive on stage toward the end of the set for a song dubbed, "Recluse I Don't Have To Love." This was something of a mash-up of Cursive's "The Recluse" and Bright Eyes' "Lover I Don't Have To Love." It was really cool.

Conor Obert and Bright Eyes played a rousing, over 2 hour set at The Astro

The last time I saw Bright Eyes in Omaha it was also the last night of the tour (which makes sense considering the band is based here), but Conor was in rough shape that time. His arm was in a sling, and his voice was shot. This time, however, he was in amazing form -- the voice was great, he seemed in good spirits, and the band was tight. Very glad to see Conor back in action.

Tim Kasher of Cursive joins Bright Eyes on stage

I really appreciated the set list from Bright Eyes. Of course, he played cuts from the newest album, Five Dice, All Threes. But I loved the inclusion of songs from Cassadega and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn as well as the usual classics like "First Day of My Life." 

At the end of the show, members of Cursive joined Bright Eyes on stage. Cursive's Ted Stevens led the band in a version of Lullaby For the Working Class's "Hypnotist." Stevens and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes were both Lullaby members. It was quite night for old school Nebraska indie fans!

Jenny Lewis Concert Review + Catalog Discussion / Rilo Kiley, Jenny & Johnny, Postal Service (VIDEO)

Hello, friends. Welcome back. Today's video is one I have wanted to make for a while. Jenny Lewis is, in my opinion, the best songwriter of the 2000s. Over the course of her 20+ year career in music - whether as a solo artist or as a member of Rilo Kiley, Jenny & Johnny, or Postal Service - Jenny Lewis has shown an amazing ability to craft songs that can be simultaneously catchy, beautiful, emotional, powerful, heart wrenching, danceable, and very relatable lyrically. Her albums have featured guest spots from Elvis Costello, Ringo Starr, Beck, members of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and many more. She has many famous friends and collaborators. 

I caught Jenny Lewis in concert recently on her Joy'All Ball Tour at a stop in Omaha at The Admiral Theater. The concert was amazing, as Jenny's shows usually are. Rather than merely review the concert, I decided to devote a little time in the video to reviewing her "solo" albums. This is not a catalog ranking, merely a discussion of her music. 

In addition to video clips and photos from the concert,  I also made a short video inside the video about Jenny's early career as a child actor and her time in the band Rilo Kiley.

The Dark Stuff Interview: Matt Focht (Head of Femur, Bright Eyes, Opium Taylor)

 

Conor Oberst Rape Accuser Admits She Lied; Issues Apology

The woman who accused rock star Conor Oberst of rape has admitted she lied and issued a public apology. Here is the text of her statement:

"The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false. I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son’s illness. I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst, and sincerely apologize to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him. I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I’m truly sorry for all the pain that I caused."

Oberst has claimed that he lost a lucrative recording contract because of these allegations and was suing the woman for libel. Thankfully, this has now been resolved.

Bright Eyes Plays Westfair This Saturday

Bright Eyes will finally hit the hometown for a show in support of the new record, The People's Key, with a show tomorrow (Saturday, June 4) at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs, IA. The show has great support, as well, with Jenny and Johnny (featuring Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley), David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion), and new-ish local, Con Dios. Tickets are still available for the very reasonable price of $25.

To wet your appetite for the show, here is a video of the band performing "Jejune Stars" on Letterman earlier this year.

New Bright Eyes Video and a TiVo Alert!!

Here is the video for the brand new Bright Eyes single, "Shell Games." The new album, The People's Key, debuted at #13 on Billboard.

Here's the TiVo alert: Bright Eyes will be playing on Letterman tomorrow night (Thursday, Feb 24).

Bright Eyes Discusses New Album

The video below is a 20 minute interview with Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst where he discusses the brand new album, The People's Key, plus his work with Monsters of Folk and the Mystic Valley Band. The interview is conducted by John Norris who was an MTV VJ in the 90s. (h/t Hear Nebraska)

More New Bright Eyes!

New Day Rising 1/16/2011 Podcast

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

New Bright Eyes - "Shell Games"

You can get a free download of the new Bright Eyes song "Shell Games" in exchange for your email address. It's a cool tune, and a departure from Conor Oberst's last two records.

Concert For Equality Wrap-Up

I spent much of yesterday and last night at the big "Concert For Equality" in downtown Benson. For this show, I was not merely an attendee, I actually worked at the show. I was right at the entry and tried to keep an accurate count of exactly how many people were at the show at any given time. The Conor Oberst envisioned/1% Productions executed show sold out far in advance, and by all accounts was a tremendous success. I didn't hear exactly how much money ended up being donated to the ACLU (and some civil rights organizations as well), but they had to be happy with the amount.

This is pretty much what I was seeing for most of the afternoon. The crowd was mostly young; and based on my brief conversations with a few who were there first, they were really excited for the Desaparecidos reunion. Me too. The sound check sounded awesome, and the set was even better.

Because I was stationed at the entrance, I didn't take too many pictures. The shot above is from Cursive's explosive set. The band rocked harder than any time I had seen them, and were definitely the loudest band of the event. Tim from Lazy-I.com took more pictures than I did, his twitpics can be found here. Though the event was political in nature, and speakers from numerous civil rights organizations came on stage between bands, very few artists themselves were political while on stage. Cursive came out swinging, and directly called out the city of Fremont, Nebraska, and accused the supporters of the law of being racist. The crowd seemed overwhelmingly in agreement.

Bright Eyes performed earlier in the show, and played a short set that touched on many of the band's best singles. I was glad to hear "Lover I Don't Have to Love" back in the set. Conor Oberst also engaged in some on stage politicking, which was to be expected since he organized the concert in the first place.

A few hours later, Conor returned with his "punk" band Desaparecidos. I never saw the group in its brief, initial run back in 2001-02, so this was a first for me. The crowd freaked, and so did many of the (probably) jaded hipsters standing in the backstage area. Considering it had been eight years since they last performed together, it was amazing how perfect they sounded. They were tight as hell, and seemed like they had never stopped playing. It made me wish Conor would put the next Bright Eyes record on hold and try Desaparecidos again.

After the Desa set, I was ready to hit the showers. I had been on my feet all day, and I really needed to just sit and chill. At one point, I became Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon and thought to myself, "I'm Too Old For This Shit." So, I unfortunately missed the aftershow show inside the Waiting Room, and didn't see Lullaby For the Working Class. After Lullaby, during the "hootenanny" portion of the show, I also missed a second Gillian Welch set, and some additional Desaparecidos. As much as it sucks that I missed that, it felt really good to be away from crowds for a bit and take a freakin' shower. Call me an old fart? Guilty as charged, I guess.

There were a handful of protesters outside the concert, but their numbers were too small to really get any attention. Twelve angry d-bags with signs like "Deport Conor Oberst." Oh well, freedom of speech is for everybody.

Local and national media was present. KETV Channel 7 filed a report and showed where they stand politically (hint: they aren't liberal). The headline reads, "Protesters Rally Outside Oberst Concert." Really? They rallied? There were 12 of them, and there were 2,000 attendees at the concert. Sounds like those twelve really were the story. WOWT Channel 6's headline was a little more neutral, "Concert For Equality In Tune With Illegal Immigration Debate." KMTV Channel 3's headline ("Oberst Protest Concert Draws Protesters") focused on the counter protest (as did Channel 7), but the story was better. The Omaha World Herald's "Indie Rockers Cheered in Benson" focused almost exclusively on the music at the concert, and only briefly mentioned the reason it was being held.

Concert For Equality is Tomorrow!

Just because the city of Fremont has put a hold on its new law does not mean the issue is over here in Nebraska. After all, Fremont could choose to re-instate it next week and force the other side to push for an injunction.

Politics aside, the show should be pretty amazing. The reunions of Desaparecidos and Lullaby For the Working Class are reason enough to go. I'll be hitting both shows (the indoor and outdoor) and keeping my eyes peeled for any surprise artists who just happen to show up to support the cause.

Conor Oberst was interviewed by KETV Channel 7 the other night along with a lawyer from the ACLU, and he explained why he felt he had to do something to combat the law in the nearby city of Fremont. Oberst considers it his patriotic duty. "To me, that's what's so un-American about it," he said. "To me, the idea of being an immigrant, that's as American a thing as you can be."

Supporters of the law are planning to protest the concert. One potential protester became unhinged during an interview with Channel 7 and attacked Oberst personally. "The comments that he makes are so anti-American and anti-white, he is actually the racist," said Susan Smith of the Nebraskans Advisory Group.

Should be an exciting evening. I will try and take pictures.

If you don't have a ticket already, you are SOL. It's sold out. So, enjoy this unofficial Desaparecidos video for "Greater Omaha."

Support the Concert For Equality

It was just officially announced today that on Saturday, July 31, in downtown Benson, Bright Eyes will be headlining the "Concert For Equality." The concert is a benefit for ACLU Nebraska, with the proceeds being used to help fight the new anti-immigrant law passed in Fremont, Nebraska.

Along with Bright Eyes, concertgoers will get to see Cursive, plus reunion shows from Desaparecidos (Conor Oberst's more "rock" band) and Lullaby For the Working Class. Other bands will be announced shortly.

Tickets are $20 and will be available July 10 at the 1% Productions site. A number of Deluxe Tickets will also be available for $50, and they will give entry to another show later that night at Waiting Room.

Buy your tickets early to support this cause. It would be tragic if Nebraska became the new Arizona.

Colossal Stupidity: It's True is Breaking Up

Tim at Lazy-I reported it, and I confirmed it with 1% Productions. It's True is breaking up. The outstanding Omaha band is calling it quits after its performance on July 24 at the MAHA Music Festival. The band is performing on the main stage along with Spoon, The Faint, Superchunk, Old 97s, and Ben Kweller. It is an amazing opportunity for exposure, but sadly, all anyone will be exposed to is a band playing its last gig.

This is colossally stupid. It's True is the best Omaha band to come along since the mighty three of the late 90s/early 2000s: Bright Eyes, Cursive, and The Faint.

This, officially, sucks.

The Killers Cover Bright Eyes

Despite not being a Killers fan, this cover of "Four Winds" by Bright Eyes is actually quite good.

Special "Intimate" Bright Eyes Show Next Week

By the time you read this, the show will probably already be sold out. But in case I am wrong, did you hear that Bright Eyes will be playing at the (I'm just guessing, but I'd say about) 200-ish capacity club, The Waiting Room? The show is Wednesday, March 18, and tickets will be $20 (here). They go on sale Wednesday, March 11 at 10 am. Jake Bellows of Neva Dinova is opening. See you there if you get a ticket.

Clips From The Bright Eyes Free Concert

The folks at Hotel Frank filmed (and posted on YouTube) some of the Obama rally featuring Bright Eyes, M. Ward, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Here are the links for the clips:

Bright Eyes and M. Ward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-v54AENeU

Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Jim James: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4nSlU5ZxLo

M. Ward and Jim James: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfZfmX2D0Xo

Jim James: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3BHRnS50Mk

LCD Soundsystem, Winehouse Top Village Voice's Pazz and Jop

For those who don't know, the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll compiles a "best of" list from about 300 critics - including some from Omaha and Lincoln. Top honors this year go to LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver with Radiohead's In Rainbows (my pick for album of the year) coming in second.















Here's the Top Ten:
1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
3. M.I.A. - Kala
4. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
5. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
6. Kanye West - Graduation
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
9. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
10. The National - Boxer


...for those looking for Omaha connections, Bright Eyes' Cassadaga placed 60th, two slots above Britney Spears' Blackout.










Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" gets single of the year, followed by:
2. Rhinna feat. Jay-Z: "Umbrella"
3. LCD Soundsystem: "All My Friends" (my pick for song of the year)
4. Feist: "1,2,3,4"
5. Justice: "D.A.N.C.E."
6. M.I.A.: "Paper Planes"
7. Kanye West: "Stronger"
8. UGK feat. Outkast: "International Players Anthem"
9. Peter Bjorn & John: "Young Folks"
10. Battles: "Atlas"

Brief Post on the Bright Eyes Show Last Night

Yeah, so I made it down to the Bright Eyes show at Waiting Room last night for 1% Productions' 10th anniversary celebration. Decent show - very packed. I got there about 9:30 and the place was already overflowing with people. It wasn't "uncomfortable crowded" but it was the most full I have ever seen Waiting Room. This might have to do with all of the additional equipment and whatnot from Bright Eyes that was using all of the space to the left of the stage. That is usually open, and therefore, filled with people. Last night, obviously, it wasn't.

I missed pretty much all of Flowers Forever, but I am not too broken up about it. I've seen them before, and was not overly impressed. Never been a Tilly & the Wall fan, so anything associated with them starts at a disadvantage with me. I caught Simon Joyner's set. No comment. Someone overheard me asking, "Where is a sniper when you need one?" during the show, so I guess that sums up my feelings on Joyner's music (of course the sniper would just be using tranquilizer darts -- no one needs to be killed, of course).

After a rather long set change, Bright Eyes came up and played a pretty good, pretty rocking set (as rocking as Bright Eyes gets). I was confused as to who was on stage with Conor. I barely recognized anyone from this version of the band. He had David Rawlings on guitar, who I know frequently works with Gillian Welch, but I have no idea about anyone else. Speaking of Gillian Welch, I thought I spotted her walking around in the crowd. It was her, and she later came up on stage and did a few songs with BE (most notably "Classic Cars").

I left before the encore because I was beat, but according to Omahype, one of the encore tunes was a cover of Tom Petty's "Walls" with Gillian and Simon Joyner helping out. I would have liked to have seen that, actually. Oh well...

UPDATE: Pitchfork has photos from the show.