Sunday night I attended concert #2 for the year: Bright Eyes at Club Laga in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh. I was saddened to find out that Club Laga will be closing soon. It's a cool venue that, although not ideal for this show, has a great warehouse vibe. Rough, back alley warehouse, not hip yuppie warehouse. And soon it will be apartments. Sigh.

The show turned out to be more of a singer/songwriter showcase than a concert. And I liked it. It wasn't so much main act/supporting act as a collage with the artists doing a few songs by themselves, a few together, all sharing one multi-instrumentalist. With no tearing down and setting up the stage, the whole 2 and a half hours flowed continuously. Or at least the two that I saw, thanks to a struggle to find a place to park in Oakland and the show starting early.

I missed much of M. Ward's time in the spotlight, but enjoyed his rough, somewhat wispy voice. It contrasted nicely with Jim James's smoother stronger one. I really enjoyed the songs all three did together. When Ward and James harmonized with Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) and his thin, emotional voice, the juxtaposition of sounds was gorgeous.

Bright Eyes, being the headliner, had the most solo time and it was well deserved. The guy has a way with words and images that is breath-taking. And his unusual, trembling voice is even more powerful live. I can't dissect the show too much because there was a lot of stuff I didn't know, both from early albums I don't own and new stuff. But I will say that I enjoyed his songs and particularly the concert format immensely. Highlight? "Waste of Paint". I could listen to this song over and over and the live performance added a whole different dimension. Second place: All three artists coming out to close the encore with Bob Dylan's "Girl of the North Country". Not only is this an awesome song, but the three singing together made it absolutely gorgeous. Worst part: The sold-out, no-seats venue. It's tough to enjoy more low-key, cerebral material when you're crammed in like sardines. I wouldn't have minded too much if I hadn't gotten stuck way out in no man's land. Let's face it, general admission sucks if you're not within 30 feet of the stage.

Concert #3 for the year is already in the works. I'll be seeing my main man, Bob Dylan in just a few short weeks.