Early in her opening set at Forest Hills Stadium on Saturday (7/31), Lucy Dacus asked the crowd if this was the first show they'd gone to since COVID. For many, it was, and there was a palpable sense of excitement and energy in the air. Saturday's show, part of Bright Eyes' first tour in ten years, was originally announced in January of 2020, and scheduled for last summer. Since then, Bright Eyes, Lucy, and Waxahatchee (replacing Japanese Breakfast, who was originally set to open this show like she did the Westville Music Bowl show on Wednesday, and has since begun her own headlining tour) all have released excellent new albums -- Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, Home Video, and Saint Cloud, respectively -- and the world has been plunged into, and begun to emerge from, COVID lockdown. Of course, things are still a long way from normal; Bright Eyes just postponed this tour's indoor shows, with COVID's contagious Delta variant in mind. Some people wore masks on Saturday, although most didn't.
In this charged atmosphere, Lucy Dacus' soothing voice cataloging adolescent awkwardness on songs from her new album was a balm. Her set, which closed with "Night Shift" from 2018's Historian, was all too short, but she's sure to play a longer one on Sunday (8/1) when she headlines Music Hall of Williamsburg, a last minute show that was announced after her scheduled Sunday show with Bright Eyes at Terminal 5 was postponed. Tomberlin opens the MHOW show, and tickets are on sale now.