Concert is father-daughter moment

By: Jay Minkin
Date: 10/31/2007
JUNE 6, 2007 —“Dad, can I go see Bright Eyes in Columbus?” my daughter asked a few months ago. Sarah, 16, has had her license for about six months. Bright Eyes is her favorite band, though it is really just the name of Conor Oberst’s musical diary. At 27, Oberst has been recording music for the last 10 years and has been somewhat under the radar. But with the recent release of Cassadaga, Oberst has grown to take on the next level as an artist who is expanding his listening audience.

Returning to more of the sound from Lifted—the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002) and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005), Cassadaga offers an Americana tone with strings and female harmonies. Oberst has been featured in all the rock ‘n roll magazines and the first single “Four Winds” was getting heavy rotation on David Dye’s radio program World Café.

Bright Eyes was performing at Mershon Auditorium, a beautiful fine arts venue on The Ohio State University campus just a stone’s throw from my old apartment on 31 E. 16th Street. So taking all that in, I offered to take Sarah if I could find good seats. “But Dad, I want to go with a friend...do you have to sit next to us?” was my daughter’s response. Yes, there is a slight disparity in age when going to a concert with someone as old as your father. After checking on seats, I found only nose bleeders for the modest $25 face value, but there were good floor seats going for $60 on one of the ticket broker sites. I told Sarah if her friend’s parents will call and okay the trip to Columbus and ticket price, I’ll be glad to order them. Well, time went by and I never heard back from Sarah about the show. In the meantime, the $60 seats were now going for a mind boggling $115 as the show became sold out. Wow, if Bright Eyes can fill this 2,600 seat venue, it’s going to be a hot show.

So the day before the show, I used a little magic and located second row center seats at the $25 face value. “Sarah, do you still want to go to Bright Eyes?” I exclaimed telling her the seat location and price. Well at that point, I guess sitting next to her own father would be worth it to see Conor Oberst.

So the band came out wearing white tuxedos and dresses and we were sitting dead center second row. It was one of those shows that could be called epic. More than a great concert, it was a daughter-father moment that will be remembered forever.

Jay Minkin is an Akron area entrepreneur, music promoter and critic. For more of his thoughts on music, you may e-mail him at blues4bird@aol.com.

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