5 posts tagged “bright eyes”

So I've been listening to Volume One by She & Him. The she is actress Zooey Deschanel (you may recognise her as Buddy's love interest Jovie in kids' flick Elf or William Miller's older sister Anita in Almost Famous). The he is indie troubadour M Ward, who has worked with Bright Eyes and Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley.

This is my favourite song from the album:

The rest continue in the same vein - reviews have compared the sound to the work of icons such as Carly Simon, Linda Rondstadt, The Carpenters, Loretta Lynn, Martha And The Vandellas, and their ilk. So faithful is the impression that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was an album of covers: of the 13 songs, there are only three ('You Really Got A Hold On Me' by Smokey Robinson, 'I Should Have Known Better' by The Beatles and a reworking of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot').

There are so many albums by bands I like coming out this year, but between this and Chris Walla, it seems the unknown quantities are the ones that are going to grab me the most.

The Chicago Theatre is a beautful, ornate building with traditional theatre-style steep multi-level seating and French-style decor throughout. All seated, we were up at the very top of the theatre, right in the middle, with a perfect view of the whole stage (albeit anyone on that stage was barely distinguishable).

The opening act was Andrew Bird. I'd heard one or two songs before and went so far as adding his albums to my Amazon Wishlist, but with so many bands to listen to, I hadn't gotten to him yet. More fool me.

Unaccompanied, he managed to build beautiful, rich arrangements using two sampling pedals (which, gear nerds, I am reliably informed are Line 6 DL4 Delay Modelers). He plucked or played gorgeous violin parts into his sampler, layering them up, before playing guitar, singing, whistling (I'm not a fan of whistling, but his was pitch-perfect with a natural vibrato) and playing glockenspiel over the top.

The acoustics in the theatre were perfect for his music, I was pretty much entranced for his entire set. A couple of songs, taken from his most recent albums - Armchair Apocrypha and The Mysterious Production Of Eggs.

By comparison, Bright Eyes - while fantastic - didn't quite keep my attention. While Bird's sound spread out and filled the theatre, Bright Eyes' was muddied by the acoustics. Frontman Conor even alluded to weird acoustics when, halfway through a song on which he played piano, he cut off and had keyboardist Nate come take a look.

When not wrestling with sound, the band put on a brilliant set. I admit to a couple of vodka and Red Bulls, so my memory is hazy on the set list, but I definitely recall...

From Cassadaga...

'Four Winds'
'If The Brakeman Turns My Way'*

* (the song on which the piano malfunctioned)

From Digital Ash In A Digital Urn...

'Arc Of Time'
'Hit The Switch'

From Fevers & Mirrors...

'An Attempt To Tip The Scales'

From I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning...

'Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)'
'Another Travelin' Song'
'Poison Oak'

From Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground...

'You Will, You Will, You Will'

There was also a Tom Petty cover in there (I wasn't paying attention as we decided to duck out early to beat the crowds, Jess says it was 'Walls' or something) and another song Conor played on piano - apparently it was a cover of a song he wrote for another band, but I could barely hear him over the screaming fourteen year old girls.

The absolute highlight of the night, amidst all the great music, was when Conor recounted a story about his former tour manager.

"This is a selfish song. Our old tour manager had a joke:

'How does Bright Eyes warm up for a show? ME ME ME ME ME!'

I fired him!"

On record, they might sound like absolute Debbie Downers, but they certainly have a sense of humour about themselves.

On Friday, Jess and I are going to see the wonderful Bright Eyes at the Chicago Theatre. It'll be the first time either of us have seen them.

To celebrate, here are five Bright Eyes songs I love. I had to pick from the six albums I have on my iPod, which range from alternative country to electronica to "straight-up, unhyphenated rock" to quote Chicago's Rock N' Roll Sage.

Show us which album tops your best of 2007 list so far.

It's a three way tie so far:

The Crane Wife by The Decemberists apparently came out last year - as did Mercury-nominated Irishman Fionn Regan's album, The End Of History; and In Rainbows by Radiohead isn't out yet. Closely following behind these are Nux Vomica by The Veils, Under The Blacklight by Rilo Kiley, 23 by Blonde Redhead and An End Has A Start by Editors.

Here is a list of everything released this year that I have on my iPod, which in theory is everything released this year that I own but it may be incomplete:

Pocket Symphony by Air
Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys
Fur And Gold by Bats For Lashes
Volta by Bjork
23 by Blonde Redhead
Cassadaga by Bright Eyes
On Letting Go by Circa Survive
Some Loud Thunder by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
An End Has A Start by Editors
The Best Of - The First Ten Years by Elvis Costello
The Reminder by Feist
Our Love To Admire by Interpol
Further North by Johnathan Rice
Spirit If... by Kevin Drew
Because Of The Times by Kings Of Leon
Singularity by Mae
Heresy And The Hotel Choir by Maritime
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse
Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails
Planet Earth by Prince
My Brother's Blood Machine by The Prize Fighter Inferno
Under The Blacklight by Rilo Kiley
Young Modern by Silverchair
Zeitgeist by Smashing Pumpkins
In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars
Beauty & Crime by Suzanne Vega
Nux Vomica by The Veils
Sky Blue Sky by Wilco

After seeing Rilo Kiley last Saturday, Jess and I have a busy few weeks ahead for gigs. We are (* hopefully) seeing...

* 24 September: Fionn Regan @ Lakeshore Theatre

27 September: Beastie Boys @ Riviera Theatre

16 October: Jonah Matranga @ Schuba's

19 October: Bright Eyes @ Chicago Theatre

20 October: Brand New @ Congress Theatre

2 November: Stars @ Vic Theatre