The Who: Bright Eyes (8:15pm Saturday at the Main Stage)
What you should know: Bright Eyes is the band fronted by the musical mastermind from Nebraska known as Conor Oberst. Oberst is also responsible for that little record label know as Saddle Creek.
With much buzz floating around the internet after two surprise appearances with The Felice Brothers, there was no way we were going to miss out on the chance of seeing Nebraska’s very own Conor Oberst play a set with an amazing set of musicians as a backing band. The suspense in the Echo built up as fast as the tiny venue filled with fans. What set of songs would he be playing? Would it be a set of new songs or the Bright Eyes classics that haven’t been played in so long? After coming on stage with an 11-song setlist, we were about to find out.
Well, it seems as if the controversial Arizona immigration law has truly given the current generation of musical activists something with which to inspire themselves to social action (which is understandable, since, you know, there hasn’t been a long-running or mishandled war to protest or anything like that), or at least something to complain about after catching a few blurbs on CNN.
And, after several artists have announced touring boycotts of the state and the resultant Arizona-based backlash against the boycott, Rage Against the Machine have announced their first Los Angeles concert in a decade in order to protest the new law and support the boycott.
As we reported last month, as more and more musicians continue to boycott Arizona due to the state’s controversial immigration law, there has been an anti-boycott groundswell developing in The Copper State, maintaining that a boycott will do more harm than good. One of the anti-boycotters is Charlie Levy, an Arizona activist and promoter who states that the boycott harms the people who are against the immigration law, and not the immigration law itself.
In response, singer Conor Oberst has fired off with an open letter to Levy in Billboard magazine, detailing why he will not return to Arizona to perform, according to Pitchfork:
The supergroup Monsters of Folk composed of Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Mike Mogis just keeps getting better and better. It wasn’t long ago that the quartet released their first album, so it should come as no surprise that they’ve been featured in our BeatCrave Fav series. For the most part, we’re glad when musicians set aside their precious time to start another amazing band and, in this case, the Monsters of Folk are no exception.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band didn’t disappoint anyone who came to this year’s first day of Sunset Junction. It was an amazing set, especially when he brought JENNY LEWIS out on stage!
Read the review and check out the photos below!
The annual Sunset Junction Street Fair officially kicked off yesterday, and BeatCrave was there to cover the goods for you!
What started out as a very hot and sticky day eventually transformed itself into the perfect breezy summer night just in time for the late acts such as Delta Spirit and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Although there were three stages altogether at the festival, the Bates stage was the place to be for both your favorite and upcoming bands.
Check out what each set had to offer through the day in the re-cap below! We’ve also got a photo gallery for your viewing pleasure.
The Omaha World-Herald has reported that Conor Oberst will release one more album as Bright Eyes then retire the moniker [via Pitckfork]. We have Saddle Creek‘s president, Robb Nansel, leaning towards the truth of the matter by stating “My guess, based on what he’s expressed to me, is that there will be one more Bright Eyes record and that will be it.”
Looks like the rumors are actually true, kids. Although Oberst had initially released music under his real name before he chose the moniker, he had also told Rolling Stone that “It does feel like it needs to stop at some point. I’d like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye.” Nansel seems to understand and explains to the Omaha World-Herald, “”I think he feels like Bright Eyes has a certain association, for better or worse. I think he’s trying to distance himself a little bit from what that means to people.”
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band recently stopped by KCRW studios to record a session for Morning Becomes Eclectic. Oberst took the opportunity to play a number of new songs instead of the songs from his recently released self-titled album. Of the seven songs performed, only one, “Cape Canaveral,” is from the album.
Not only did Oberst play new songs, he let Mystic Valley players Taylor Hollingsworth and Nik Freitas each play one of their own original songs. Check out the video and the set list for the session after the break.
