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Stereoboard Tour of the Week – Bright Eyes
Friday, 14 January 2011 Written by Rob Sleigh


Four years on from their splendidly well-received Glastonbury set, their critically and commercially successful seventh album ‘Cassadaga’ and their less well-received cancelled UK tour dates, US folk-rockers Bright Eyes are back with a number of small shows announced for next month. Following their previously-announced date at the Royal Albert Hall, which has since sold out, the band have now revealed three new dates that will coincide with the release of their new album ‘The People’s Key’ and includes a show at London’s Scala venue on 14th February – the day the album comes out.

Back in 2007, Bright Eyes played an impressive show on the Other Stage at Glastonbury shortly after the release of ‘Cassadaga’, their most successful album to date. The album was widely applauded for its spectacular blend of alt-country, folk and indie music and it managed to reach Number 13 in the UK Album Chart. Unfortunately, despite these early successes, 2007 didn’t go completely as well as the group had planned. Later in the year, they were forced to cancel a number of tour dates due to illness, including V Festival and the Eden Sessions in Cornwall. However, now they’re back with a new album on the way and some fresh tour dates to look forward to.

Bright Eyes began in 1995 as a project of Nebraskan singer-songwriter Conor Oberst and their first album ‘A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997’ appeared three years later. Oberst has always been the pivotal member of the group, with a number of other musicians making occasional contributions. Other more permanent members of Bright Eyes include multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, who first joined Oberst for second album ‘Letting Off the Happiness’ in 1998, and Nate Walcott, who teamed up with them six years later. They didn’t start to experience any real success until the release of the fourth Bright Eyes album ‘Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground’ in 2002. However, it was upon the joint release of their fifth and sixth albums ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ and ‘Digital Ash in a Digital Urn’ in 2005 that widespread appreciation for their music was first felt both at home and abroad.

While often recognised for his highly commendable songwriting ability, Oberst has also been noted in the past for his occasionally unpredictable behaviour. During one memorable incident (memorable for us, embarrassing for him) back in 2005, he made trouble for himself when, in a year that followed the death of John Peel, he drunkenly made some disparaging comments about the much-loved DJ whilst headlining Glastonbury Festival’s first-ever John Peel Stage. He then went on to make matters worse for himself by continuing to insult the crowd, the festival and the Make Poverty History campaign, which began the same year in conjunction with the Live 8 concerts. Fortunately, Oberst respectfully apologised a short time after and, following their far more suitable performance at the same festival two years later, all has since been forgiven and, indeed, forgotten.

Following a short hiatus and Oberst’s appearances with his own Mystic Valley Band and supergroup Monsters of Folk, Bright Eyes are finally making a welcome and long-awaited return to UK shores. Although Oberst has mentioned in the past that ‘The People’s Key’ might be the last Bright Eyes album, the end is still a long way off and there is much to look forward to from the group in 2011.

Bright Eyes UK Dates:

February 2011

08 - Oran Mor, Glasgow
09 - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
14 - Scala (Album Launch Show), London

June 2011

23 - Royal Albert Hall, London

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