Tuesday night at The Bluebird, rising folk musician Brett Dennen shimmied and shook his long, lanky frame into the hearts and earholes of an extremely energetic crowd. But as impressive as Dennen's set was, I came to this show for the undercard: Blind Pilot.
Featured during one of the most emotional scenes in season three of Showtime's Californication, Blind Pilot could easily be headliners in their own right. After commenting on how beautiful Bloomington is and saying it was the first town on their tour where it actually looks like fall, Blind Pilot launched into a set comprised of songs off of their debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound.
Although much of the crowd was obviously waiting for Dennen to take the stage, a surprising number of people were singing along to almost every lyric. It must have taken lead singer Israel Nebeker by surprise as well because he paused between songs and actually thanked the crowd for getting into it, specifically one dude who was singing almost as loud as Israel.
After the brief interlude, they played a few tracks from their new album, We Are The Tide. The crowd seemed to dig them, but they really got back into it when the first guitar riff to "One Red Thread" rang out. For just an opening set, Blind Pilot seemed to draw a fair amount of knowledgeable fans out.
Closing a 45-minute set with the title track of their new album, Blind Pilot left the stage to enthusiastic applause, then anticipatory applause for the next act.
Brett Dennen took the stage with a huge smile on his face and without shoes on his feet. Now, I might as well come clean on this: tonight was my introduction to Brett Dennen. As I mentioned before, I came for Blind Pilot, but I am so glad I stuck around.
Playing to a typical Bluebird crowd comprising of both the young and the old, Dennen quickly spread his energy throughout the venue. While it wasn't a sold-out show, it certainly felt like one from within the first ten rows.
For a Tuesday night (and a kind-of pricy $18 ticket), the turnout was extremely impressive. Brett said on stage after just two songs into his set that this was easily the best show yet on their tour, a sentiment Blind Pilot's Israel later echoed to me.
At this point in my college career, I've been to quite a few shows at The Bluebird. I have never seen a crowd as genuinely happy as when I saw Dennen's listening to him sing about falling in love and watching his girations to match the lyrics.
Dennen mostly performed tracks from his new album, Loverboy, which was released in April. However, he did have a few tricks and tracks up his sleeve. About an hour into the set, the band cleared the stage and Brett came out and performed an acoustic encore starting out with "Ain't No Reason," an apparent fan favorite, gauging from the reaction. The rest of the band filed back on stage for a planned encore. Hardly anyone in the crowd was fooled by this posturing; most stayed right where they were, if they hadn't already pushed even closer to the stage.
The energy was phenomenal from beginning to end throughout both sets. As Brett and his band closed the night with "Blessed," the back room of The Bluebird turned into an impromptu salsa dancing room. About seven or eight people swung their hips back and forth as Dennen had been doing all night and were the perfect exclamation mark to a fantastic evening.
Post by Jonathan Streetman; Photography by Kelsey Collisi
Blind Pilot setlist:
Oviedo
The Story I Heard
Two Towns From Me
The Colored Night
Half Moon
New York
Go On, Say It
One Red Thread
3 Rounds and a Sound
We Are The Tide
Brett Dennen setlist:
Make You Fall in Love with Me
Dancing
Wrong About Me
She's Mine
Must Be Losing
San Francisco
Can't Stop Thinkin'
Darlin'
Heaven
Comeback Kid
Sydney
Make You Crazy
Ain't No Reason
Queen
Blessed
