Gather 'round A to Z, children. Old Lady Zaleski has a story to tell you. Back in fall 2005, Bright Eyes had a show scheduled at the Pageant. The gig was on sale, people were weeping with delight and tickets were flying out the door. But then, suddenly, a dark cloud fell over the city: The gig was no longer on due to the Pageant's then-association with Clear Channel. The show later happened in Columbia on the same night.
Well, the skies have parted, birds are chirping and all is allegedly forgiven between the band and the venue, as Conor Oberst's website just posted a June 6 Bright Eyes date in St. Louis. This would be the band's first appearance in town in a really, really long time. We'll see if the Pageant confirms this show at 5 p.m. as part of its normal Tuesday routine. [Note: See below for a cool look back at Bright Eyes' last show in town, which was a decade ago.]
Oh, and for the record: Clear Channel spun off the events/concerts-focused company Live Nation in late 2005. LN in turn merged with TIcketmaster last year. And you can buy tickets to shows at the Pageant via TM or Live Nation's websites.
[Update, 1:45 p.m. So, Vintage Vinyl dropped me a line with a link to a page on its website talking about an old Bright Eyes in-store -- from March 2001. According to the store, the band was opening for J Mascis later on that night at a 21+ club, and wanted to do an all-ages performance for fans. "Over 100 people came by, and the band stuck around for another half hour and mingled with the crowd," the store says. Check out a photo below -- and more at the link.
