Featured Stories,  Live Performances

2011: The Year of Bright Eyes (Photos and Concert Review @ Majestic Theatre Detroit, MI)

Michigan was lucky enough to host Bright Eyes three times in 2011. The Majestic Theatre show was special because the band fully displayed a performance that was, “…for the love of the game”. This is the statement I like to use when I find an artist of any sort that participates in their art for the pure enjoyment and love/passion for whatever it is they do. That night Bright Eyes played for us for about two hours and twenty minutes. That impressed me because the group has s pretty strenuous tour schedule, and keeping up that amount of energy isn’t easy. The engaging Conor Oberst was especially magnetic that night because he was all personality. By the encore, Conor was dancing without restraint and speaking to the crowd eloquently about whatever he felt like. It was fun to watch him let loose, and interesting to get a glimpse into the depth and passion of his character. Some of the memorable moments of the night were:

1. “Land Locked Blues” “Road to Joy”  “Another Travelin’ Song” and “Lua”-Like a certain beloved Detroit rockstar likes to say, “If it’s real, you’ll feel it.” I felt it!

2. Nate Walcott on the horn-He’s a joy to listen to and has a lovely tone.

3. Conor poking fun at mean-spirited tight pants wearing ignormamuses

4. Conor playfully pulling the tip of  seemingly bashful Mike Mogis’ guitar in order to pull him center stage for a proper introduction, as well as his other affectionate introductions of bandmates.

5. Oberst’s duet with the lovely honey-haired Laura Burhenn

6. The Encore: Oberst’s performance was raw, sincere, and displayed his passion for performing.

SETLIST

  1. Encore:
  2. (Gillian Welch cover)
  3. Photos
    Bright Eyes has the best Photo Passes!
    My Fave Photo of the night
    FAVE Bright Eyes Photos from 2011 Michigan concerts
    ZEUS from Toronto, Canada opened!
    Shooting Notes: I loved the lighting during the opening band Zeus’ set. Bright Eyes had RED RED RED lighting for most of the initial songs which can be tricky but I was happy with the pictures I took and liked the gritty black and whites ones because they are different than the photos from the other Bright Eyes shows I’ve shot. I used a 24-70mm  f/2.8 lens for most of the show but switched it up with  my crazy 28-200mm 3.5-6.3mm play lens for a few shots since I was a ‘lil far back due to no photo barrier.  Ironically, Bright Eyes was the first band I ever photographed (March 2011), the first concert I ever got to shoot in daylight (Grand Rapids show), the first band I photographed for my own publication, and coincidentally…My Favorite Group:) I can’t wait to see what they do next.

One Comment

  • Dr. Chance

    Great pics! Would love to see Bright Eyes in person sometime. I’m especially digging the guitar action shots–beautiful work.

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