If Johnny Cash was the Man in Black, Conor Oberst may be the Wunderkind in White. At least that might be an appropriate moniker following Bright Eyes’ Saturday performance in Tulsa. Dressed entirely in white, Conor & his large band delievered a country-tinged show with a setlist focused primarily on songs from his most recent album, Cassadaga. Despite being peppered with Wentz-groomed emo teens more interested in angst than honkytonkyin’, both the audience and the band were at Cain’s to have a good time.

Several years ago, I saw Bright Eyes’ headline a show in Dallas that was truly an unpleasant experience. Conor spent most of his time on stage chugging red wine directly from a bottle and spewing hate towards the audience about Texas and the current president. The show was brief and the performance awkward - the complete opposite of what I watched on Saturday. Conor appeared confident, kept stage banter to a minimum, and (dare I say) seemed to be enjoying himself.

The show opened with the quiet “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)” and each subsequent song proved that every band member and instrument on stage were there for more than just show. Perhaps nothing is more indicative of the raucous swell than the “Road to Joy” finale. When Conor shouted the final song’s lyric about making some noise, all present were more than happy to oblige his request. Check out the above video that I captured of that wild moment and see for yourself.

Also, here’s the setlist, a couple of pics, and a bonus track that Bright Eyes unfortunately did not play or include on Cassadaga.

MP3: Bright Eyes - Susan Miller Rag

SETLIST
01 “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)”
02 “Hot Knives”
03 “Four Winds”
04 “False Advertising”
05 “Middleman”
06 “First Day Of My Life”
07 “No One Would Riot For Less”
08 “If The Brakeman Turns My Way”
09 “The Calendar Hung Itself”
10 “Cleanse Song”
11 “Lime Tree”
12 “I Believe In Symmetry”
13 “Road to Joy”

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