Bright Eyes Bring The People’s Key To The Santa Barbara Bowl

REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY MARGARETTE BACANI

Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, Bright Eyes set out this year to promote their newest album, “The People’s Key” with a tour of the same name.  Led by songwriter, Conor Oberst (with Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott), the multi-instrumentalist trio inflamed the Santa Barbara Bowl on September 25 with their indie folk and rock style hits.

The cool night was opened by Kurt Vile and the band that he’s been touring with, The Violators. Despite the scantiness of the early evening audience, they pulled out their best and played a brief, mellow session of their favorite tunes .  In the same vein as what most Bright Eyes concert reviews would say, the opening act is usually “the calm before the Oberst storm,” which would be proven to be true, later, as The Violators closed their set.

After a few minutes of rearraging the set, the Santa Barbara stage went pitch-dark and the audience exploded with excitement and anticipation.  The spotlights flipped on and Bright Eyes beamed, opening their 17-song set with “At The Bottom of Everything,” a single from their hit album, “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” and one of their most famous singles.  Their setlist mostly included hit songs from “The People’s Key,” such as “Firewall,” “Jejune Stars,” and “Ladder Song.”  What made the band so appealing to an audience of varying age groups is not only their on-stage bravado, but, also their style from the Nebraskan indie music scene, which is a cleverly-balanced mix of country, folk, and rock.

Bright Eyes ended the night with a three-song encore that included “Wrecking Ball”–a cover of the Gillian Welch hit–followed by “Road to Joy” and finally capping it off with “One For You, One For Me.”

You can read more at The Bright Eyes Website.

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