Bright Eyes at the Glasgow Barrowlands

 I've listened to Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst a lot since 2004.  Some of these records contain some of my favourite music.  Oberst is genuinely gifted and Bright Eyes sit with Fugazi, Dylan and Neil Young as perennial favourites.  I've managed to see Oberst solo a couple of times and with the Desparadicos but I've never managed to see Bright Eyes.  When they last played Glasgow in 2011 I was working In Dundee and I couldn't get through.  Life sucks sometimes.

The show tonight should originally have happened in 2020 but was rescheduled twice due to the pandemic.  Glasgow was dark and busy as Celtic were playing Real Madrid at Parkhead, just up the road from the Barrowlands.  We arrived late so we missed the support act.  The venue was not too busy and the crowd were fairly mild mannered.

The band tonight were great.  Besides the 3 core members there were an additional 5 players on stage producing a rich sound.  This was the last night of a month long European tour so they were well practiced and tight.  Bright Eyes as a group compared with Oberst solo are different prospects.  Solo, Oberst seems more precise or subtle but with Bright Eyes there are more sample driven soundscapes and improvised jams.

Oberst appeared to drink from a bottle of wine onstage.  His speech appeared slurred at times but he was able to play piano or guitar with perfect timing immediately after the apparent drunken rambling.  Oberst as part of Bright Eyes might be a bit of a character at times.  He had been tattooed by a member of the support band before the show.  Pictures were posted on Facebook afterwards.  Twitter contained a lot of concern for Oberst but I think he probably had a good night.

I always struggle to remember the names of Bright Eyes songs.  I often know all the words but I can't remember the titles.  Thankfully SetlistFM exists and can tell you the titles of the 18 tracks that were played.  Personal highlights included I believe in symmetry, Lover I don't have to love and Mariana trench.  A cover of Double Joe by Simon Joyner was enjoyable too.

So, overall, I loved this gig and I could watch Bright Eyes recurrently and be happy.