Wednesday night (April 09, 2025) was a one-two punch of Saddle Creek Records powerhouses when Cursive and Bright Eyes played a night of nostalgia and raw emotion at the Agora.
Cursive opened, playing what seemed like an atypically long set for an opening band. One of the many reasons that these two bands feel more like dual headliners than one opening for the other. Lead singer Tim Kasher’s existential lyrics, paired with the band’s intricate arrangements, resonated just as much today as they did when the band first started out, over 20 years ago, and the same is true for Bright Eyes.
The setlist covered the gamut of Cursive’s long career, from 2000’s ‘Domestica‘ to last year’s ‘Devourer.’ They closed with the everlasting “From the Hips.” Even though cello player Megan Siebe is the only member who hasn’t been with the band pretty much since it started, she really shined, whipping her hair violently while rocking out. The entire band was rocking out, particularly all four members at the front of the stage, including Ted Stevens on guitar and Matt Maginn on bass. Not to be outdone, keyboardist Patrick Newbery brought out the trumpet throughout the set and was eventually joined on the horns by Bright Eyes member MiWi La Lupa on “Rise Up! Rise Up!”
Both Bright Eyes and Cursive are known for taking stances against injustices. “There’s no such thing as woke,” Kasher said at one point in Cursive’s set. “It’s just decency. They somehow managed to militarize decency,” eliciting a big cheer from the crowd.
Then, before Bright Eyes started their set, lead singer Conor Oberst’s voice came over the loudspeakers with a message about his Poison Oak Project, a charity that supports trans youths. Never one to shy away from political hot-button issues, Oberst has also been championing causes since the start of his music career. Some comments he made throughout the set were about not wanting to live in “Elon’s fascist wet dream” and how things were bad when he wrote “Road to Joy,” but now they are so much worse.
After the announcement, they came out and opened their set with the energetic “Bells and Whistles” and “El Capitan,” both from their latest album, ‘Five Dice, All Threes,‘ released late last year. The setlist varies on this tour, but these two seem to be the consistent opening songs, and for good reason. They both rock and show how the band has evolved over the years. Through all the changes in sound, the melancholy lyrics have been the constant, however.
Like the band before him, Oberst was also making full use of the stage. Anyone expecting him to stand at his mic and simply sing his songs is sorely mistaken. Even during the classically slower / more acoustic songs like “First Day of My Life” he would dance a little jig across the stage. He moved all over that space, even stepping out onto the speakers and eventually down to the front of the crowd in the pit, hugging them as he sang, “One For You, One For Me.”
A personal highlight was the cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town,” complete with a crowd clap along. This song has been in rotation on the current tour, but he doesn’t play it at every show, so it felt like a real treat to see it live, especially for someone who has seen Johnston live as well.
Another highlight was “Poison Oak,” featuring Nate Walcott on the pedal steel, one of the many roles he filled throughout the evening.
Later, Oberst brought out Tim Kasher from Cursive for a rare performance of “Nothing Gets Crossed Out,” which featured some lovely keyboard by Walcott, who also showed off his trumpet skills throughout the evening. The highlight of this song wasn’t just Kasher and Oberst sharing vocals like old friends do, but that they ended up slow dancing at one point.
Backing Bright Eyes on this tour are Conor Elmes on drums and Alex Levine on bass, both fitting in with the veteran members nicely. Then, much of Cursive came out at one point in the set or another to help fill out the songs even more. For the encore, Cursive bassist Ted Stevens came out to help perform “Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H.)” a song from his first band, Lullaby For the Working Class. Oberst told a touching story about how he’s known Stephens since he was a kid, and how Stephens helped him record his first music on a four-track recorder.
The concert was more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane; it was a celebration of indie music’s staying power, the unbreakable connections formed through music, and the power that songs can have. In an era where fleeting trends often overshadow substance, Bright Eyes and Cursive reminded us of the enduring power of songwriting that says something.
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