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Klutch.xls: Take this test
1. Do you wear tight black jeans and 80's shirts?
2. Is "getting a cute girlfriend" right up there with "sleeping late" and "skipping math class" on your list of priorities?
3. Have you ever written a poem about your "soul" or the absence of a "soul"?
4. Do you think Coner Oberst could kick Chris Carrabba's ass? Like, big time?
If you answered YES to any of the above questions,
you might enjoy the lilting sound of the music of
Bright Eyes.
If you have read Monday's HonkeyCracker, then
you have the jist of where I am going with this.
Introduction: Bright Eyes rocks. Bright Eyes is
essentially 24 (23?) year old Connor Oberst and
whoever else happens to be in the room with him at
the time. His (their) music is indie/folk/punk . . . or
alt-country-emo . . . or something. The lyrics are
incredibly charming, somewhat naive, and for the
most part, deal with that feeling you got in your
stomach in High School when you could kind of
smell the cute girl who sat in front of you in class
but could never really catch up with her cause she
spent most of her time in the "Creative Writing
Suite for Gifted and Talented Youths" or smoking
pot and having sex with the art instructor. OK,
maybe not. But the songs remind me of those
carefree days, subject matter be damned.
I see him as a fully functioning Daniel Johnston, in a way.
So, Cracker and I decide we are going to try and go see Bright Eyes on Sunday, but the show is sold out. In general, I have been able to find a way into sold-out shows 50% of the time I try.
I learned 4 (four) lessons this night:
1. Do NOT buy tickets from the 40 year old guy with a cold sore.
2. Do NOT buy tickets from the guy in the Adidas jump suit.
3. Go ahead. Ask everyone in line if they have extra tickets. Then watch the group of teen girls you just spoke to sell their extras to the Adidas guy. Not a minute after you asked them. Watch them sell the tickets to him for $15 (fifteen dollars). Watch, look close, pay attention, as he then turns to you and offers you those tickets for $70 (seventy dollars.)
4. The Adidas guy does NOT have a "Friend" who will be dropping off "an extra ticket or two" sometime "later."
Great HonkeyCracker quote about said Adidas guy:
He sure smokes a lot for someone who has to bum ciggarettes.
Anyhow, some nice pierced teens sold us tickets for under face and we were in.
Ever since I heard about Scott Sapp from Creed getting so drunk at a concert that he just laid on the ground and his bandmates left the stage I have wanted to go to a concert like that. Of course, you'd have to shoot me in the head and put my corpse in a duffel bag to get me to a Creed show, so I figured that would be one of lifes pleasures I would never experience.
Conor Oberst walked on stage with a 3/4 (3-quarters) empty bottle of Jack Daniels. After approx. 6 songs (maybe it was more) the bottle was finished, Conor was lying on the floor with a bass guitar strapped around his neck and his bandmates were playing their own material. After every song the band would huddle center stage seemingly deciding what to do next. Good time good time. Though, I would have liked to have seen some Bright Eyes songs.
Now here's the kicker. After reading some message boards, this is the norm. In fact, the setlists from all the recent concerts are nearly identical, down to the supporting musicians solo stuff. People say things like "well, Conor wasn't as drunk tonight, but he still fell off the stage during Laura Laurant."
Crazy.
Rock.
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