Written By Christian Cole, OOTB Publications
On Weds., April 9, a pair of Omaha, Nebraska legends made their way to Cleveland, Ohio’s Agora Theater for a mesmerizing night of catharsis. The bands in question? Indie-rock legends Bright Eyes and their longtime friends, Cursive.
We took to the line at 6:25 p.m. where longtime fans gathered and shared conversations about past shows, band member’s health scares, and setlist possibilities.
As 6:30 p.m. struck, the line began to move, and before we knew it, we were front-and-center surrounded by an air of anticipation, excited to watch the evening unfold.
Cursive came to the stage at 7:25 p.m., bringing with them an intense energy right off the rip. The sound was mixed perfectly as the band led us through a high-energy 50-minute set that spanned their whole career.
A good chunk of their latest album, Devourer (released in 2024), was represented, mixed in against classics like “Shallow Means, Deep Ends” and the brand new mash-up “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love”; a mix of their song “Recluse” infused with Bright Eyes’ “Lover I Don’t Have to Love.”
The crowd jumped and swooned and shouted back lyrics at the aging indie-emo legends as the set neared its end at 8:15 p.m.. Now, it was time to wait.
At 8:45 p.m., the lights dimmed down again in the ballroom as an introduction began to play over the loudspeakers: The intro to 2020’s Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was, followed directly by the audio of old western films (a reference to the latest album, Five Dice, All Threes).
As the audio samples neared their end, the Omaha gentlemen, who have healed our hearts for so long, took to the stage and jumped straight into two cuts from the latest LP: “Bells and Whistles” followed directly by “El Capitan.” Fans went wild with love.
The set took us through an entire career—filled with diverse sounds and energies representing iconic albums LIFTED, The People’s Key and I’m Wide Awake it’s Morning.
The band was tight and lead vocalist Conor Oberst was lively and energetic—dancing, jumping and climbing down to the barriers any time he stepped away from his guitar or piano.
The musicianship was unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else; the majority of the band constantly switching to different instruments between songs and playing for us the most beautifully cinematic melodies in an explosion of sound.
While the night saw so many high-energy tracks, the band was no stranger to slowing things down and giving us the more somber cuts, like when they wound down and gave us the banjo rendition of 2005’s “First Day of My Life.” The crowd settled down and sang back to Connor every heartfelt word of the fan-favorite tune.
From there, they kicked things back up with “Bas Jan Ader” and the incredibly energetic and upbeat “Mariana Trench,” which saw Conor dancing about the entire stage with poise and charisma unmatched.
The band took on a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town,” a track often shown love by the indie giants.
Cursive’s Tim Kasher even came to the stage and joined the band for a beautiful take on “Nothing Gets Crossed Out” before stripping down again for the tear inducing “Poison Oak”—laced with lap steel guitar that could move any man to succumb to his emotions—just before jumping into the fast-paced “Shell Games” and bringing us back down once more for “Tiny Suicides.”
The band put on for the entire evening with energy and camaraderie unmatched as the entire venue was lined with teary eyed and hopeful onlookers.
At the end of the set, Conor came to the microphone to tell us, “this song is why we came here, we came here to play you this song,” before launching into “One For You, One For Me,” which gave us some of Conor’s best energy of the evening.
Leaning over the barriers he sang from heart and soul lyrics that are more relevant right now than ever before, and you could sense that he knew that. He danced his way back to the stage to announce the end of the evening and took back off into the shadows with the band.
Moments later, they returned to stage with a bow before taking on not ONE, but THREE encores.
They started with “At The Bottom of Everything” before leading us through a cover of Lullaby for the Working Class’s “Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H)” and finally closing out the evening with another fan favorite, “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves.”
The crowd roared, screamed, sang, laughed and even cried as the evening came to an end; realizing what we had just seen.
Bright Eyes brought on their absolute best for Cleveland. We saw Conor in good spirits and good health and the band in such tight synchronicity, it was truly absurd to see.
The Omaha indie legends may be aging, but they certainly aren’t losing any charm or shine. If you missed them in Cleveland this year, I’d highly recommend planning to catch them next time.
You’ll be moved through so many emotions and leave a happier person than when you may have walked in—a true representation of the power of music.
Bright Eyes’ tour supports the Poison Oak Project: https://www.propeller.la/causes/32603/poison-oak-project
See Tour Dates:
https://www.thisisbrighteyes.com/tour
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