Bright Eyes
(Picture: Handout)American alt-folk heroes Bright Eyes returned to London for the first time in more than 10 years last night, playing a rescheduled show to a loyal crowd at the Hammersmith Apollo. The band delighted long-term fans with a career-spanning set list in support of their latest album and an extensive re-issue project which will see them re-release their entire discography.
Bright Eyes took a lengthy hiatus starting in 2011, and despite often troubled live shows, their penchant for melodrama and the grandiose remains well intact.
Opener Dance and Sing saw lead singer Conor Oberst do exactly that, as if no-one was watching, showing off some erratic moves and setting the evening off. Fan-favourite Jejune Stars got a big cheer as Oberst sat at the piano, but it was Old Soul Song, the first track to be played from 2005’s acclaimed I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, that really drew the crowd out of its shell.
The six core members of Bright Eyes were joined by a four-piece horn and three-piece string section, and Oberst prowled across the stage, electric guitar in hand, urging the horn section on. Mariana Trench brought those dance moves back out, after which Oberst thanked the majority of fans who kept a hold of their tickets throughout the pandemic to attend. He also gave a heartfelt tribute to anyone in the audience who had lost a loved one during that time.
“All my love songs end in tragedy”, he declared, as the band barreled into No One Would Riot for Less, but it wasn’t until the awkward piano fiddling before Persona Non Grata, when bandmate Nate Walcott had to come and place his hands in the right position, that one was aware of Oberst getting progressively more drunk as the night went on.
The crowd were equal parts confused and amused at some of the longer ramblings between songs, but fortunately, it didn’t affect the performances. Despite the fumbling, Persona Non Grata ended with a fantastic horn-driven outro, arguably elevating it to highlight-of-the-night status.
The biggest singalong was reserved for Poison Oak, and by the time we got to a rocking version of The Calendar Hung Himself, Oberst was getting carried away, appearing to punch himself in the face. Mark Twain, an Omaha bar, and Halley’s Comet were among the mentions before the last song.
As Oberst tried to explain, Walcott failed to interrupt and get moving, but in the end it was a supportive, loyal, crowd of fans that got him over the line to perform Comet Song, and then finish with a three-song encore of First Day of my Life, I Believe In Symmetry, and One for Me and One for You.
