we want jenny lewis

Ya know I am probably the biggest VU and Lou Reed fan but the fact that he played with this no talent really makes me think that the electro shock treatments Lou had as a teenager is starting to have a real bad effect on him.

Lou was great. Ben Kweller not so much - they really didn't do much singing together like with Lou.

I definitely see Jenny Lewis and a Michael Stipe appearance in the future. Any other guesses?

Good stuff. You can check out a video with Lou and Conor at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2mxTFdVLF4

The Velvet Underground just fell down a few notches in my book.

C'mon ..Bright Eyes isnt that bad...
Lets also remember that Lou Reed made Honda scooter commercials and played stick guitar
..he's not infallible

this makes me sick. I literally just threw up on my computer. I was trying to think of something to compare it to, but it's so disgusting that I can't find a fair comparison.

Lou Reed, I don't think you need to be told this... but that was SOOOOOOO beneath you. Bright Eyes is absolute bile.

please kill me documented lou reed's sexual wild side. if you read it, you know lou isn't afraid of a few kinks namely little boys and poo. it all makes sense now.

Do you think Lou wrinkled that douchebags' Prada suit when they hugged?

You'll get Jenny Lewis

when will people start giving connor the credit he deserves? i mean, if artists that we ALL love and respect seem to be admiring and participating in connor's music, should'nt you? he truly is one of the most genuine people you'd ever meet. it's time you start thinking differently about him cause he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. he'll be on letterman and (that crappy scottish guy's) shows next week. don't expect any cowboy hats this time.

not to mention Conor is a brave protester - not afraid to sing "When the President Talks to God" on Leno. Give the guy some credit. jeez.

He could be the nicest guy on the planet for all i care. His music still stinks worse than New Jersey. It amazes me that he sells out umpteen nights at Town Hall with tons of blogs like this one documenting his every fart and yet a truly beautiful songwriter like Robert Fisher of Willard Grant Conspiracy plays at Living Room and does not get any mention. The show was great by the way and Steve Wynn got up on stage and played with him for 2 songs. Anyway i guess you can't account for most peoples crappy taste in music these days.

i heard norah jones' name was being thrown around as a possible guest

Norah will be a guest - there's a different one each night.

I just don't get Bright Eyes. Thought the Friday night show was sorta dull...with the exception of the 2 lou reed songs--both of which went on too long--and you could see lou thought they were way too long in his eyes.

best part of set actually was acoustic encores he did with gillian welch and david rawlings...besides that, the white suits and the badly mixed sound (could not hear the lyrics, i mean whats the point) seemed a mess.

Remind me to sell all my Velvet Underground records.

I caught the show last night and I thought it was really good. Connor is a great song writer, especially in regards to his lyrics. There were times the sound was a little muddied, but only occasionally.

I'm a relatively new fan, and I haven't even heard any of his music before his last three albums... before that I had a vague impression of him as being this hyper-emotional, semi-ridiculous person. It wasn't till I heard "Wide Awake" that that changed... that is a truly amazing album, and Casadaga is excellent as well, and Digital Ash has even grown on me to some extent.

I'm pretty much baffled at the vitriol directed against Connor and crew. I mean, if it's not to your taste, fine, but why the utter contempt? Frankly I think people need to take a look at themselves and consider why they would become so emotionally involved in their hatred against some fucking band. How bout some perspective here.

You obviously don't know any great protest singers. Putting Bush's face on the cover of a lame single and singing it on a popular TV show before elections does not make one a protest singer. It just lowers him to the level of the campaigning politicians. Nothing but cheap publicity.

I really loathe Bright Eyes.

Can we all stop pretending that Bright Eyes is anything other than the worst music ever made in the history of mankind?

until you can get Lou Reed to play with you, I don't want to even hear from you.

i think you suck

if you seriously are badmouthing lou reed and VU (ex: saying you will sell all of your VU albums because of this -which i'm guessing is just a joke) simply because lou played 2 songs with bright eyes you have some serious issues with good music. First off, Conor Oberst is a really nice guy (i've talked to him a few times) and he is a great lyricist. and second of all 2 songs by one member shouldn't be enough for you to second guess one of the greatest bands in rock history. if you're gonna hate on any one member of the velvets, pick on doug yule, not lou reed.
~Marc

Fuck You !

whatever conor oberst is, jenny lewis is too, don't understand all the "jenny > conor" talk. that being said, i'm a fan of both.

i love bright eyes and lou reed is a load of horsewash!

I'm rubber. You're glue.

"not to mention Conor is a brave protester - not afraid to sing "When the President Talks to God" on Leno. Give the guy some credit. jeez."

Yeah, I'm sure that took a lot of "bravery". Who isn't a "brave protestor" these days?

Connor Oberst is probably commenting nice comments about himself here. I can't imagine a real person defending this moron.

it seems to be very cool to not like bright eyes or conor oberst, but what's the reason? if it's not the kind of music you listen to, then that's understandable. but i don't think anyone knows his personality from listening to their music, going to a bright eyes show, or meeting him. i think it's beautiful music and i listened to bright eyes for about two years without knowing how conor looked like or what he said in interviews etc.. don't be so serious, it's just music. everyone has different opinions and no one is more right or wrong than the other, unless anyone is mean to someone..

Guess what 10:24, Lou Reed doesn't give a shit that the Velvet Underground feel a couple of notches in YOUR book, or anyone elses. Lou Reed could careless, when you are old and wise you will get that - but for now go back to posting lame photos in your MYSPACE and being unoriginal and afraid of how people perceive YOU in THEIR BOOKS

Conor was great Saturday night (Ben Kweller guest, yawn), although the sound mix was off most of the night. I was sitting just a few seats right of center and could barely hear what was going on stage left. A bit too loud too (and I rarely say that...just that some of his music isn't always meant to be heard so loud). I enjoyed his Bowery show earlier this year more, but this was still a great show and I'm going again. Also, Gillian was amazing...worth the price for her alone.

I was at the Sat. show and agree with Juan about the sound being too loud. It really was a surprise, because I have always found the sound at Town Hall to be fine, and had no problem with Bright Eyes last concert at Town Hall a couple of years ago.
I thought it was a very good show and enjoyed the opening bands, and Ben Kweller as guest, but I would have enjoyed the show even more had the volume not been so high. Attentions bands: your music does not sound better when you blast the volume.

so fucking negative

looks like betty lou's gettin' out tonight, and borrowing a page from his backdoor buddy, david bowie's handbook....i.e. he's trying to link up to a younger crowd through this bright eyes idiot....i'd rather he continued honda commercials, played a steinberger, and kept selling walk on the wild side for publi$hing, than sharing a stage with this loser....what's conor doin - paying everyone to show-up?....how pathetic they needed to co-bill surprise special guests to move seats and get press.

so fucking negative

Posted by Anonymous | May 28, 2007 7:55 AM

telling either the truth or one's own true opinion isn't being negative.... it's being fucking honest....get over it if you don't agree with another person's thoughts....

Too bad for you if you don't like Bright Eyes, but i don't see the point in complaining about something you don't like/listen to. Be happy about what you like/listen to instead. I really don't think fighting about music is something very important.

Too bad for you if you don't like Bright Eyes, but i don't see the point in complaining about something you don't like/listen to. Be happy about what you like/listen to instead. I really don't think fighting about music is something very important.

Posted by Anonymous | May 28, 2007 9:30 AM

And too bad for you that you like them, but you made a good point.

I wish I could get half the number of anonymous drive-by snob comments on my blog like BV gets. Of course, it could turn out to be like 2 people commenting over and over, so that wouldn't be fun.

I like Bright Eyes. The sound was too loud on Sat. night though. I do also agree that the Bowery shows blew these away. One thing about the haters: not only would I not read a post about a band I'm not into, I definitely wouldn't be reading comments about said post and furthermore I wouldn't be commenting either. Strange behavior.....

I wish I could get half the number of anonymous drive-by snob comments on my blog like BV gets. Of course, it could turn out to be like 2 people commenting over and over, so that wouldn't be fun.

Posted by Eric K/Sonic Parthenon | May 28, 2007 9:47 AM

your blog's so vanilla....a little jazz, a little jon stewart, a little bloc party... covering all the bases except home plate....typical political correctness... how about some shoutouts for the yellows and brownies in the house? but don't let my mention of it and your shameless self-promo, get in the way of letting other people judge for themselves....

I wish I could get half the number of anonymous drive-by snob comments on my blog like BV gets. Of course, it could turn out to be like 2 people commenting over and over, so that wouldn't be fun.

Posted by Eric K/Sonic Parthenon | May 28, 2007 9:47 AM

your blog's so vanilla....a little jazz, a little jon stewart, a little bravery (or was it bloc party?)... a blanco covering all the typical bases except home plate....typical political correctness... how about some shoutouts for the amarillos y negros in the house? but don't let my mention of it and your shameless self-promo, get in the way of letting other people judge for themselves....

I went Friday night to see Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and they were excellent. I didn't plan to stay for Bright Eyes but ended up staying and thought it was a pretty good live show with the surprise of Lou Reed being pretty awesome. My favorite was definitely the end when Welch and Rawlings came back on stage for the finale. My question was why did everyone insist on sitting down through the whole concert except when Lou Reed was on and everyone stood up?

One thing about the haters: not only would I not read a post about a band I'm not into, I definitely wouldn't be reading comments about said post and furthermore I wouldn't be commenting either. Strange behavior.....Posted by treece | May 28, 2007 10:15 AM

you just did everything you said you wouldn't do.

DUH!

who guested sunday night?

They took Sunday off--the day of rest, etc.

"you just did everything you said you wouldn't do.

DUH!"

Treece's point was that s/he DOES like Bright Eyes, and therefore IS reading and commenting.

(duh)

Can anyone report what time Gillian Welch/David Rawlings took the stage for any of the previous nights?

maybe like 8:30ish Friday? i was on my 2nd whiskey...

"And too bad for you that you like them, but you made a good point.

Posted by Anonymous | May 28, 2007 9:36 AM"

ok. i think it's good to be more positive than negative. but i understand that you can't like everything.

I would just like to add that people who enjoy Bright Eyes have poor taste in music. Thanks.

You don't always have to compare bands everytime, both bands can be good but in different ways. No one has more poor taste in music than anyone else.

Thanks, Lee. 10:31 seems a bit confused. "He", for the record.

Thanks, Lee. 10:31 seems a bit confused. "He", for the record.

He's played with Springsteen, Stipe, Lou Reed.. I think he was on Sesame Street for christ's sake! Who is seriously doubting his talent??? And whether you like their music or not, they've always been champions for indy music – an inspiring success story for any band considering doing it themselves (even if they're not a huge enough label to successfully handle their overseas distribution – nobody's perfect). He's not an internet sensation, they built a fan base over 10 years of touring the earth in van. Bright Eyes kick serious ass and I can't wait to go to the show tonight!!!!!!

When you get home, don't forget to post who the special guest was.

you haters are fools for two reasons. first you fail to recognize one of the best songwriters working today. and second you waste your time in blog comments. denigrating someone whose work you probably don't even know. one gets the sense that the criticism is really about something in conor oberst's popularity/image rather than his songs. Wait, am I wasting my time chastising denigrators in blog comments. At least I'm not a fool for two reasons.

He's played with Springsteen, Stipe, Lou Reed.. I think he was on Sesame Street for christ's sake! Who is seriously doubting his talent???

Posted by one of them | May 28, 2007 12:50 PM

Big fucking deal! So did the Dixie Chicks!

On Saturday the first opener was Oakley Hall (I think that's the name) and they were already on when I walked in about 5 after 8. I think Gillian came on around 9, and Colin not until ... I think it was after 10.

But...beware...I think I remember the Oakley guys saying that was their final night of the tour. Does anyone else remember that? So, unless there is a new first opener, it may be that everything moves an hour earlier for the weekday shows.

That would make sense because I thought Town Hall was one of the venues with an annoying 11:00 p.m curfew and Saturday's show ended around midnight. Maybe its 11 weekdays (?)>

Please post who the guest is... oh, and whether Gilian does Black Star, the Radiohead cover, again.

b/e went on at 10:20 plenty of time for drinks

I like Bright Eyes...now Sufjan Stevens...thats souless crap...all Bright Eyes hatred should be redirected towards him...eh i dont care what you do with your hatred as long as you love yourself.

just kidding Sufjan (u really suck tho)

i love you

"you just did everything you said you wouldn't do.

DUH!"

Treece's point was that s/he DOES like Bright Eyes, and therefore IS reading and commenting.

(duh)

Posted by Lee | May 28, 2007 11:08 AM

fuck off

here's a video of bright eyes with ben kweller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o31RYedh5As

and with lou reed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aszdn22o5pA

both of the videos are of pretty good quality

special guests were jenny lewis and jonathan rice

the sound isn't great there

bright eyes were great there

they have this weird policy of not letting you take your drinks to your seats, though they sell them throughout the show and don't tell you they aren't allowed inside. not that i need to drink to have a good time, that's true but besides the point.

almost entirely cassadega songs, which my wife said sound better live than on the album. she's a keeper

"Anonymous" can dish it out but can't take it, haha.

"Anonymous" can dish it out but can't take it, haha.

Posted by Lee | May 29, 2007 12:08 AM

but your sister can take it goooooood!

"No one has more poor taste in music than anyone else"

Yes actually people do. If you like Bright Eyes you should drown yourself cause the taste you have in music is piss poor

"He's played with Springsteen, Stipe, Lou Reed.. I think he was on Sesame Street for christ's sake! Who is seriously doubting his talent???"

You are kidding you fucking moron, right? Who gives a shit who played with him. Springsteen is amazing but he also did a song with Jesse Malin. I mean cmon now.

"first you fail to recognize one of the best songwriters working today. and second you waste your time in blog comments. denigrating someone whose work you probably don't even know"

First to respond to your idiocy on the first point BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA one of the best songwriters working today hahahahahahhahhahah dude you need a reality check.
And on the second point, oh yeah it takes so much time to post in a blog. A real time waster. AND yes i do know his work and it sucks doodoo

Oh and yes your sister does take it good

not to mention Conor is a brave protester - not afraid to sing "When the President Talks to God" on Leno. Give the guy some credit. jeez.

Posted by Anonymous | May 27, 2007 12:24 PM

well done, anonmymous. this was what some call "humor" and it was funny. people need to ease up and enjoy themselves. fuck.

Now that the 3 day weekend is over , can you all kids go back to school & fight during recess

gillian & david went on about 8:40 on friday & were worth the price of admission alone. they played (at least) my first lover/elvis presley blues/throw me a rope/one little song/everything is free/i want to sing that rock & roll/time (the revelator)/going to jackson plus a (new) song i didn't recognize...one of the best sets i've ever seen by them & further proof that david rawlings is one of the best guitarits out there.

one of the best sets i've ever seen by them & further proof that david rawlings is one of the best guitarits out there.

Posted by jay | May 29, 2007 9:52 AM

yah, he's the next robert johnson

Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice? were the special guests on Monday....Not too good...

I'm sick of everyone bashing Bright Eyes. You don't like it, move on and listen to something else. It's pretty annoying hearing everyone try to discredit everyone elses opinion. It's ALL opinion. How can you quantify the best band or the worst band? You can't. YOu like a band or you don't. If you don't like one, that's fine, but accept the fact that your opinion isn't the universal one.

There are no rights and wrongs in music.

^^^^^Unfortunately you are wrong, there are rights and wrongs in music and Bright Eyes is just wrong and frankly who gives a shit what you are sick of.

okay you ninny, accepting your premise that there are rights and wrongs in music, who/what is right? who's good? enlighten us. or go entertain yourself elsewhere. try playing with fire.

On the subject of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (kinda), they did a show at PS 122 on Sunday night with Demetri Martin, Matt Diffee and Patrick Borelli. Gillian led a "Jackson" cover, David led a "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" cover and they had Tim Blake Nelson join them for a cover of "Bessie the Heifer". There was also footage of Gillian being interviewed for being a genius when she was seventeen. This was my first time seeing them as I was there for the comedy, but I really enjoyed them.

"okay you ninny"

--ummm not to offend you Maam but at 70 shouldnt you be at the bingo parlor instead of posting on a blog.

Also, when you say "enlighten us" who are you referring to as US? Do you speak for everyone on here or are you talking about all the different voices inside your head?

come on ninny,

who's good? spit it out or run away.

Wow.

Fuck ya'll.

Some people are just miserable people, aren't they?

Since the music these bitter douchebags listen to is obviously way better than everyone else, you guys should all probably just go back to your caves and stay there.

Ignorant intolerance is way cool, by the way.

Nice ones.

So what do you consider right? I'm really curious to hear? And what makes BE wrong? Please, enlighten me.

Well, not to wade into this cesspool of idiocy especially calling someone a ninny(that is some insult and the guy was right for calling you maam) but I can name many better bands, songwriters etc than Bright Eyes. Where do we start??? Older Bands, Newer Recent Ones? The list is long and varied. Oh and i agree with the above poster, people who listen to Bright Eyes should go back to their caves and stay there.

Ninny No. 2,

start now. start with Bright Eyes' contemporaries.

This is a very strong and frankly disturbing feature of music taste that I see everywhere, even in my friends, even in myself:

Defining yourself by what you hate instead of what you like. Maybe this is the definition of superior music taste, since in order to separate your music taste from everyone else's, you must hold their music taste in disdain.

On the other hand: I have pretty open music taste, I am generally willing to try things out. Sometimes I'm smart enough to realize that my first impression is not always the correct one. I acknowledge that having guilty pleasures is a sign of health; it's okay to secretly like something that is pretty fucking embarassing if you stop to think about it. (I have a LONG list of guilty pleasures.)

No matter what your favorite music is, someone out there think's it's crap. If you can say that you are down with all of the following, then I think you probably have good taste in music:
1) Country Music
2) Heavy Metal
3) Hip-hop

Just an opinion. I'm sure someone will shit all over it within the hour.

P.S. I don't particularly like Bright Eyes, but Connor made a song with The Album Leaf called "Hungry for a Holiday", and I think that song is pretty great. Also, if we are going to start naming bands that shouldn't be overlooked: Berg Sans Nipple. They played at Pianos on Sunday and BrooklynVegan didn't notice.

Nice post Shananana.

Yes, I try and be open too. I like country and hip-hop, but don't like much country after the 60's and think that most of hip-hop is crap. I curse the day that crunk was invented. But the fact is that this is an indie/hipster website, and that most everyone is a scathing critic on the web. Unfortunately I think that these factors do more to fuel the disturbing pattern you are talking about than anything else.

p.s.-I don't like Bright Eyes at all, but I do like some solo Sting, the Wallflowers and Coldplay. How are those for guilty pleasures?

"Just an opinion. I'm sure someone will shit all over it within the hour."

Hehe...sad but likely true!

"P.S. I don't particularly like Bright Eyes, but Connor made a song with The Album Leaf called "Hungry for a Holiday", and I think that song is pretty great."

Thanks for the tip.

Ditto here, on not really liking Bright Eyes. But, like you, there's a project I like quite a bit, and that's Conor's / Bright Eyes' 'A Christmas Album' (pardon the in-quotes, but there's no way to italicize on the site). Basically, and to paraphrase the booklet's blurb, Traditional Christmas songs (performed and arranged) by Conor, Maria Taylor, and a host of their friends.

If you don't have this, I highly recommend it.

"Also, if we are going to start naming bands that shouldn't be overlooked: Berg Sans Nipple. They played at Pianos on Sunday and BrooklynVegan didn't notice.

Posted by Sha-na-na-nonymous | May 29, 2007 6:27 PM"

I have yet to see them live (so I have no idea how they are in concert), but an album that's been on my personal First-Half of 2007 Top Ten List since this past April, is, The Clientele's 'God Save The Clientele.'

Why do you bright eyes haters? think that "bowl of oranges", "we are nowhere and it's now", "let's not shit ourselves (to love and to be loved", "one foot in front of the other"/"landlocked blues", "poison oak" and "loose leaves" are bad songs?

p.s.-I don't like Bright Eyes at all, but I do like some solo Sting, the Wallflowers and Coldplay. How are those for guilty pleasures?

Posted by Evan | May 29, 2007 6:46 PM

Why must they be of the "guilty" variety at all?

"I have yet to see them [Berg Sans Nipple] live (so I have no idea how they are in concert), but an album that's been on my personal First-Half of 2007 Top Ten List since this past April, is, The Clientele's 'God Save The Clientele.'"

Berg Sans Nipple are damn good live. The drummer is bananas. The two guys play several instruments each, often playing a few simultaneously. They toured with Do Make Say Think, so I saw them twice the last time they were here.

I tried out the Clientele and dismissed them two years ago, but I've been thinking about trying them out again. A lot of people I know (and whose music taste I esteem) are into them.

Tuesday Night Special Guest = Norah Jones

Tuesday night special guest = Norah Jones

One of my favorite bands is 311. I get crap all the time. Who cares what other people like? You like your bands, you buy your albums, you go to the shows, and you smile. It's your life and ears.

Whatever crap you are getting for 311...it is not enough.

anyone able to tell me when gillian welch went on last night? and when bright eyes did?

Welch around 815. Not sure when BE did.

Wasn't there last night, but I believe BE went on around 10:00 PM on Sat. night. Probably the same time every night. Anyone know what songs Norah Jones did with them last night?

bright eyes went on well before 10 last night. kept hearing 10 around this site so didnt go in till then, and missed 3 songs. so id say its closer to 935, 940 BE goes on. norah jones did songs with her band the little willies, nothing solo. but her and her band did do 'we are nowhere and it's now' with conor. good stuff. shes a nice looking lady.

Setlist from Tuesday.

1. Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
2. Hot Knives
3. False Advertising
4. Middleman
5. Soul Singer in a Session Band
6. No One Would Riot For Less
7. Cleanse Song
8. Cartoon Blues (w/ David Rawlings on guitar)
9. If the Brakeman Turns My Way (w/ Rawlings and Jason Bosel on Tambourines and background vocals)
10. Love Me (Little Willies feat. Norah Jones)
11. I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Little Willies feat. Norah Jones)
12. We Are Nowhere And It's Now (w. Little Willies feat Norah Jones)
13. I Believe in Symmetry
14. Lime Tree
e.
15. The Calendar Hung Itself
16. Four Winds
17. Look at Miss Ohio (w. David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and Norah Jones)
18. Helpless (Neil Young Cover w/ David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Norah Jones)

I guess it was a bit later because Oakley Hall played Sat. night as well. Don't mean to give anyone bad info. Wait....now I'm confused. Anon 3:03, from your post it sounds like N. Jones played a set with her own band or am I wrong? I was under the impression that it was just Gillian Welch & then BE since Oakley dropped off. Please enlighten me.

Enlightenment arrived @ 3:12 PM. Thanks for posting the setlist. Would've loved to have seen that "Helpless".

who was the guest tonight?

Hopefully the guest tonite was the Grim Reaper and he took this hack away never to be heard from again

Wednesday night guests were Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Maria Taylor, and Nick Zinner.

you would be stupid to miss gillian and dave. they are absolutely gorgeous live.

i have "helpless" and a few other vids on my blog...

Steve Earle! What a dream!

wow. i had a great time friday night seeing them play together. it was rather cardiac arrest inducing.

bright eyes seems to be one of those things you either love or hate. while i respect that, like some other people said - what's with the unutterable hatred towards him?

it seems like its terribly trendy to be despising him right now. god. fuck off.

yeah hating music is way cooler than liking it, it earns you e-points.

Does anybody know when and where the next show of Bright Eyes will be? You can leave your comment here, or at http://www.geschilonline.nl