I swear I was born right in the doorway

[carnivalnights]

Ah, Bright Eyes. Well, to start off, this concert was a much better experience, so there is little bitching ahead.

The trek there took quite a while, but at least I did not get lost. Because Sean had to work, we decided to meet up at the venue. I got there first, of course. When I got to Massey Hall and started heading toward my seat, my mouth dropped open. I have been to Massey Hall before but never on the floor, so the seats were a lot closer than I imagined. I realized the fourth row would be close, yes, but I predicted at that moment I could possibly be hit with Conor sweat because it was so close. We we not in the very center, but the seats were awesome, regardless.

The show opened with the strangest creature you will ever meet: Gruff Rhys. He is a Welsh singer, and I think he only did two English songs. Since he is a professional audio engineer, he put on a real show. He had tons of instruments, at least fifteen. He multi-tasked throughout his performance using this collection and it was really quite impressive. Songs were infused with everything from rainforest bird calls to megaphones. He had a great sense of humour and was extremely interactive. I thought his music was very strange and I may not rush out to buy his CD, but he deserves a lot of credit for what he does. He is extremely talented and his performance felt very intimate because he never stopped talking to us.

The obligatory high-pitched screeching, love yous and marry mes--from girls and boys alike--followed as Conor and his band walked on to the stage. Conor looks deathly thin up-close and I almost cringed at his poor stick legs. But he still looked great. As expected, Conor was a bit drunk already and proceeded to have a couple of beers throughout the performance. But thankfully, he still put on a great show and did not seem to falter enough for us to notice. (Although I think having a beer is fine on stage, Conor has let it get out of control many times and lashed out at the audience and criticized their city. I had no intention of staying if it came to that. I think I would have walked out.) Despite being the end of their Canadian tour, Conor's voice seemed warmed up and quivered as well as ever. Everyone in the band seemed very enthusiastic and had their heart right in the show. I was extremely impressed with the violinist (I think his name is Anton Patzner), who played with the utmost passion and talent. He was really, really great and reminded me how sexy that instrument is... All boys should play the violin.

My prayers were answered when they played First Day of My Life. We were even more lucky because the other band members went off stage for this song and Conor did an acoustic version. It was so beautiful. They did not play Lover I Don't Have to Love at the last Bright Eyes concert we went to, but they did at this one and I was very pleased. It might be cliché to adore the song, but hearing it live reminded me where the adoration comes from. It is a very hard and passionate song, and on stage this is very present as the band thrashes about and seems completely engulfed in the emotional meanings of the song. It really tugs at your heart strings. They played a great new song called Soul Singer in a Session Band. I really liked it and I hope it is the direction their new album is going. Less country. ;) What I really wished they had played is One Foot in Front of the Other, as it is probably my favourite or at least in my top three. But I did get to hear it last year so that's alright. Method Acting, Bowl of Oranges or Easy/Lucky/Free would have been nice to hear, but I was satisfied with the set list. I am sure tons of people wanted to hear Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh as well, but I am not a big fan of that song myself. A set list has not been posted but these are the others I remember: Poison Oak , Another Travellin' Song, An Attempt to Tip the Scales, Laura Lorent, Lua, Well Whiskey, Take it Easy (Love Nothing). They may have also played Train Under Water and We Are Free Men.

I was suprised with how interactive Conor was with the audience. Usually--and I am basing this on what I have heard as well as the last concert--he keeps to himself and does not say much to the crowd. But he seemed to be in a pretty good mood and even got us to sing alongt. At this point, actually, Sean and I could have sworn he looked right at me and said, "I can't see you!" when I wasn't singing. He could have been looking at anyone in the front rows, but it really did seem like he was looking at me. Because of the angle Conor was standing, Sean and I were pretty much face-to-face with him the entire night. We were not dead center, but we had eye contact with Conor, no doubt. I am sure, at some point, Conor looked at me and knew I was alive. Heh. The lighting made it hard to see exactly where he was looking, but you know that feeling you get when you think someone's eyes are on you? I got that feeling a couple of times. It was creepy but cool. I also noticed that a lot of people in the front row were being sprayed with Conor sweat and spit, and we were only four rows back. So yes, that should indicate how close we were.

At one point during the show, a boy yelled out to Conor, "Marry me!" And Conor said, "Okay!" And then, "Oh, yeah, I guess you guys can do that here [in Toronto], right? Back in my hometown that wouldn't fly." (Or something along those lines.) Bwaha.

The only complaint I have? Cameras. For whatever reason, they did not do a pat down or bag check at the entrance. And the security guards did not seem to mind that the majority of people had a camrea. Even before the show started people were taking pictures and the guards didn't bat an eyelash. I have read that Conor, though, is pro-taping and picture-taking at his concerts. So perhaps Conor requested that cameras be allowed during the concert. I have heard it is actually up to the band to make the call. I saw many people videotaping too. But the picture-taking was really annoying, especially when the lighting on stage was darker. I felt like I was going blind with the constant flashing. At times you forgot it was even there, because it was so constant, but most of the time I found it annoying and inconsiderate. But then, had I known I was allowed to bring a camera, I probably would have been taking a few too. (But not every two seconds like a lot of people seemed to be doing.) Being as close as we were, there would have been some great shots to post. *sniff*

Anyway, as I am sure is obvious by now, the concert was great and I enjoyed it. Does this change my no-concert policy? No. The usual panic and anxiety followed me, of course, so that is always exhausting to put up with. But even more to the point, most times it is not worth going to a concert. I have three or four band exceptions where I will go to see a concert, but even then, I now have an end-seat-or-floor-seat rule. From now on, no balconies. It is just not worth it, especially considering most bands now cost $50+ to see here, even indie bands.

Comments

[es-skwared.livejournal.com]

i have a no concert policy too...not because of cost though..simply cause i never know when tix are coming up *meekly laughs*

you my dear have seen two amazing shows within the what?!!! last two weeks or so...*envy surrounds me*

i find it hard to believe that you have a no concert policy and what exactly does your policy entail..forgive me..i haven't read back through your posts

s.

[carnivalnights.livejournal.com]

I hate concerts for many reasons, but the main two reasons are because A) I have social anxiety disorder and those types of events are extremely hard for me to get through, and B) I almost always have a shitty time at concerts due to various reasons (like the Radiohead one). I also don't have a lot of disposable income anyway, being a student and all, so I can't usually afford it. I've just had so many bad experiences with concerts now that I've given up on them. Heh.

[littlemisstexas.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear that this concert went much better than your last and you had a wonderful time, you so deserved it. ; )

P.S. Gruff Rhys sounds fascinating. : )

[carnivalnights.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks, hun. I'm glad this one went better than the last! I was really hoping it would since our seats were so great.

And yes. Rhys is a total riot. ;)

[mistressofwhen.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you had a nice experience this time around : )

[carnivalnights.livejournal.com]

Me too. Otherwise I would have lost all faith in humanity. :P

[wickedinnocence.livejournal.com]

I'm so jealous! I want to see Conor. :( But only if he played "Haligh Haligh A Lie Haligh." Did he play that???

Some friends and I used to go out to eat and say, "Oberst, party of (##)." We were pretty much awesome.

[lobsterbelle.livejournal.com]

It's a shame you were without a camera, but I'm so glad you finally made it to an enjoyable concert.

And there's nothing wrong with a bit of Lover I Don't Have to Love appreciation. :D

[pinkerdot.livejournal.com]

fitting, i'm revisiting my bright eyes phase right now (mostly fevers and mirrors) and you lucky girl, you got to see the show nice and up-close.

generally it is up to the artists to make a to-do with the venue about allowing cameras. i know, for example, that the houses of blues have, by default, a no-camera (unless-formally-authorized-by-certain-people) policy, but artists have requested cameras be allowed and so they've posted signs saying so.

[just-one.livejournal.com]

haha, gruff is an unusual character, but then so are all of our most talented artists. i don't know if you like the super furry animals, but i reckon you'd enjoy their 'show me magic' album.

[letsdoitforart.livejournal.com]

that was a good description of the show.
I didn't end up going but it was nice to read this!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[offermeescape.livejournal.com]

As I've told you before, I'm so glad you had a good time at this concert. It was well deserved after that fiasco at the Radiohead concert. <333 I wish we had known about the camera policy - I know I would have brought my own too. *sigh* I mean, I attempted to take pictures at Coachella but you know how those turned out. :(