Bright Eyes serenades St. Louis with Hurray for the Riff Raff

Can you remember the first song you ever listened to of a band? We all have one… that one song that opened the musical doors in your mind. Something about it clicks with you; you can’t explain it. For whatever reason, it just feels right.

The first time I heard Bright Eyes, I was 16 years old. I can still remember what the air felt like. It was springtime, just like now, and the green of the grass and trees was so stark and deep, you could soak your eyes into it. The song was “At The Bottom of Everything” and, to this day, when I hear that song, I can feel the luscious colors of springtime and early bloom engulf me. That’s what the night of March 22nd felt like in St. Louis — being surrounded by beauty and growth.

You could see it just looking around as people filled the venue.

Bright Eyes’ first album was released more than 20 years ago, so I was anticipating the crowd to be a mishmash of millennials, tucked into their old skinny jeans, eager to hear Conor sing them through a wave of nostalgia. To my surprise, the demographic was widespread. People of every age gathered inside, including teenagers and young children ready to hear a band which existed long before they were even born. I was standing in a roomful of strangers that shared the same interest, spanning across generations.

The evening took off with Hurray for the Riff Raff, an indie opener for Bright Eyes. Alynda Segarra’s voice had a rugged, yet gentle sound that paired nicely with the acoustic chords they played; letters spelling “SONG” and “BIRD” tattooed across the knuckles of each of their hands. Just like a bird, each song carried a flighty, refreshing variety of sound that overlapped genres, many of which are featured in their newest album, The Past Is Still Alive released February 2024.

A buzzing began during the brief intermission when Hurray for the Riff Raff finished their set.

The eagerness among concert-goers started to build. For anyone who frequents live performances, it is an all-too familiar feeling; it’s an exciting vibration deep in the skin, building anticipation for what you have been waiting for all evening. The shadow figures of stagehands appeared and disappeared as they prepped the stage for the main event. The lights began to dim and the chattering voices dissipated only for a moment before a burst of light and a roar of cheers filled the building. The members of Bright Eyes fronted by Conor Oberst had taken to the stage at last.

After a handful of cancelled shows due to medical concerns, it was a relief to see Conor back on tour to promote Bright Eyes’ newest album, Five Dice, All Threes, and hear that same unforgettable voice. Earlier in the evening, that voice unexpectedly spoke through the PA system “hey, it’s Conor” and I felt myself jump. The voice I had come to know over the years singing through my headphones on old mix CDs was now speaking to me in real-time over an intercom. His voice sounded no different from how it always has: this soft and sweet, almost child-like presence that was both surreal, yet a familiar comfort.

The band played a variety of songs that intermingled between past releases and their most recent album, including the popular and playful single “Bells and Whistles”. Their 11th album takes a more lighthearted approach compared to Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was. It’s Bright Eyes’ first release after a nine-year hiatus, choosing to replace an orchestra of instruments and heavy set lyrics with a more bare-bones approach paired with catchy, whimsical sounds.

At one point, Conor was presented with an acoustic guitar and stated that the next song was for all of the “lovers” in the audience, if the audience happened to have them, and then those heartwarming chords we all know started to play. “This is the first day of my life,” he sang and the room sang with him. Despite being in a room surrounded by hundreds of strangers, music has always been a way to close and seal a divide, and Conor did that with just his words.

Bodies next to bodies swayed and hummed along.

We were all lovers in the room that night: lovers of music, of poetry, of creative expression, and the magic live performances. It didn’t matter if you didn’t know the words to every song or if you couldn’t name a single Bright Eyes album; what mattered was sharing the moment, a moment of many that make up our lives. You never know how an evening is going to turn out, but that’s why we take a gamble and show up anyway. All I can say is that if Bright Eyes was a gamble, I would take the bet every single time.

Photography by Sean Rider; article by Michelle Zigler

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