Mature is never a word I previously associated with Bright Eyes, nor their ballooning number of devoted fans. But, as witnessed on Wednesday night at the Fox Theater in Pomona, both Bright Eyes’ primary entity Conor Oberst and the formerly teenage, now mid-20’s audience have grown-up. On record, this has been both good and bad for Oberst, as he had lost some of his immediacy but gained a remarkable amount of competency. Live, though, is something else, as Bright Eyes can still revisit their classic songs, which rank among the best of the last 15 years, while inserting their new material seamlessly and still enticing all the emotion and anger that listeners associate with the group. Plus, they sound better than ever.
Late in the set, Oberst introduced his band and noted that he “has burned a lot of bridges over the years.” And while this may seem true to the singer, it is hard to ignore that he is still surrounded by not only the sold-out crowd of more than 2,000 people, but both Farmer Dave Scher, who provided a feel-good opening set that featured Bright Eyes’ Nate Walcott doing double-duty, and Jenny and Johnny, a duo that featuring two leads that have kept close to Oberst over the years.
The latter group is, of course, the collaboration of Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and her boyfriend, Johnathan Rice. As far as cute-couple music groups go, Jenny and Johnny distinguish themselves through morbid take on love songs. Their yarns often feature duel vocals that seem at odds with each other, as if the couple were venting their frustrations in public. This, however, is less likely than the fact that both are gifted songwriters and are simply having fun within the confines of their project.
Over nearly a dozen songs, the pair overcame a constant barrage of “I love you Jenny” calls from the crowd in order to deliver a tight and faithful representation of their 2010 album, I’m Having Fun Now. The set began with more Johnny-intensive tracks “Committed” and “Scissor Runner,” allowing Rice to win over the crowd that was clearly more infatuated with Jenny. But the group hinges on the fact that it is a dual front, and not accepting that will leave some disappointed. For audience members that were able to come to terms with the fact that it is Jenny AND Johnny, maximum enjoyment could be had from standouts cuts like, “My Pet Snakes” and “Just Like Zeus.”
Lewis often looked over to Rice with googly eyes, even walking over to him in between the first two songs, only to stop short and blow him a kiss. And the group even brought out a couple of their solo songs. “The End Of The Affair,” a stripped down duet received the biggest ovation of the set, playing into the country vocals that Lewis nails and Rice proved more than capable of handling. Closer track “The Next Messiah” oozed the sexual tension of great Southern blues standards. By the set’s completion, Jenny and Johnny had shown a range from modern pop-rock to the pillars on which modern pop-rock was built.
And as warm as the crowd was to the openers, it was minuscule compared to the explosion that took place when the spoken-word intro that begins the new Bright Eyes album, The People’s Key, came over the P.A. The band came to the stage and Oberst continued with the new album’s opening cut, “Firewall,” which burned slowly and allowed the spectators to get emotionally invested in the set. From there, it was an elevator ride up, with “Jejune Stars,” “Take It Easy (Love Nothing),” and “Four Winds” all getting bigger reactions than the last.
Oberst performed 24 songs over two hours, spanning his earliest work (“Falling Out Of Love”), mid-period favorites (“Bowl Of Oranges” “Old Soul Song (For A New World Order)”), live rarities (“From A Balance Beam” “Going For The Gold”) and recent standouts (“Ladder Song” “Shell Games”). For a long while, the new, mature Oberst sounded at the top of his game. “We Are Nowhere (And It’s Now)” became an unsolicited singalong, with the singer giving a knowing nod to the audience after the first verse, acknowledging their overwhelmingly positive reaction to the song. “Shell Games” saw Oberst leave his piano for the final verse, climbing to the edge of the stage and leading the crowd for the “count of three” moment that they lyrics demand. The fans came through at the right moment, and it was hard to miss the band’s satisfaction with response.
Oberst was notably animated, often acting out the lyrics to his songs, which served to increase the effectiveness of the set. During “Arc Of Time,” possibly the tightest number of the night, the singer shadow-boxed the audience as his band slowly increased the pressure until the song boiled over. Other band members had their chances to shine as well, with Nate Walcott killing every opportunity to play the trumpet (particularly in the “Bowl Of Oranges” conclusion), Mike Mogis losing himself in his intro-guitar solo during “Gold Mine Gutted,” and Laura Burhenn taking some vocals at the conclusion of “Lover I Don’t Have To Love.” But at some point between the last tight number, “Hot Knives,” and “The Calendar Hung Itself,” Oberst seemed to be both exhausted and a little tipsy.
The conclusion of the set proved that for all Oberst’s growing up, there is still the angry young man inside of him, and that’s probably for the best. Sure, “Love I Don’t Have To Love” and “Gold Mine Gutted” sounded a little sloppy, but anyone who has ever seen Bright Eyes loves Oberst for this. We want to see him give a political rant. We want to see him let loose. And, as he noted that the backstage was a gathering of friends in town for Coachella, he let that atmosphere drift onto the stage, saying he counted the audience “among his friends.” Tops of the great quotes from the looser Oberst, the singer seemed poised to say something about the government before “Road To Joy,” but backed off and claimed “I’ve learned to never speak in public about something you care about.” Anyone who remembers the backlash that he received from his stance on the Arizona immigrant legislation can understand why. During band introductions, things got flat out silly, with Oberst calling Mogis “the motherfucking Dr. Dre of indie rock” and forgetting the home state of Burhenn. While the focus of early in the set had been lost, seeing two sides of the same band is all anyone should want in a live show. Seeing Conor Oberst having fun, dancing onto the stage from the encore break, touching the hands of the crowd during “One For You, One For Me,” and giving the sold-out audience the comprehensive Bright Eyes set that past tours had fallen short of was a night that allowed attendees to leave the venue with grins on their faces. It will be something their sunset billing at Coachella will be hard-pressed to top, but if Wednesday night was any indicator, he will try. And that is all we can ask.
Jenny and Johnny setlist:
Committed
Scissor Runner
My Pet Snakes
Just Like Zeus
Slavedriver
Switchblade
Animal
Big Wave
End Of The Affair (Johnathan Rice cover)
The Next Messiah (Jenny Lewis cover)
Bright Eyes setlist:
Firewall
Jejune Stars
Take It Easy (Love Nothing)
Four Winds
From A Balance Beam
We Are Nowhere (And It’s Now)
Shell Games
Approximate Sunlight
Arc Of Time
Falling Out Of Love
Bowl Of Oranges
Something Vague
No One Would Riot For Less
Beginner’s Mind
Cartoon Blues
Going For The Gold
Hot Knives
Old Soul Song (For A New World Order)
The Calendar Hung Itself
Ladder Song
Gold Mine Gutted
Lover I Don’t Have To Love
Road To Joy
One For You, One For Me
