At Boise Gig, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst Recalls Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch Doing Him a Solid
Bright Eyes commander Conor Oberst shared a heartfelt and formative memory with the crowd that packed the Treefort Music Hall to see his ensemble perform tonight.
About halfway through Bright Eyes‘ 20-song set, Oberst recalled that his prior band Commander Venus opened for their idols, Built to Spill, when the latter band performed in Oberst’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. He noted that he was only 14 years old at the time.
Oberst then recounted that when Bright Eyes played to an empty Neurolux in Boise when they were starting out, he received a note from that city’s hometown hero, Built to Spill leader Doug Martsch, on which he had written his home phone number an invitation for Oberst’s band to crash at his house for the night.
According to Oberst’s retelling of the story, Martsch made good on his word, and it appears the musicians formed a friendship that’s lasted for decades.
Incidentally, Martsch (and Ohio folk-rock act Saintseneca) opened for Bright Eyes at Monday night’s concert. Bright Eyes have apparently taken a liking to playing Boise, as they just headlined Idaho’s best annual music event, Treefort Music Fest, in late March. Oberst’s band performed three more songs at tonight’s show than they did at Treefort.
Before leaving the stage, the band railed against the “vicious cycle of authoritarianism that has cycled around again” and the requirement that everyone who cares about “the human species” fight to fend it off.
Bright Eyes also held a raffle to raise money for The Poison Oak Project, the band’s nonprofit group (named after its song “Poison Oak”) devoted to protecting and promoting equality for members of the trans community and other LGBTQ+ individuals. The band is supporting national and local organizations of that ilk in each city on their current tour.
Bright Eyes will play The Depot in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and House of Blues Las Vegas on Wednesday, with Saintseneca opening both gigs. Tickets are available here.
Last but not least, Bright Eyes will issue an EP called Kids Table on September 26 through Dead Oceans.
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