Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst Walks Off Houston Show After Two Songs, Band Suggests Karaoke Instead

Matt Cowan/Getty Images

Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst Walks Off Houston Show After Two Songs, Band Suggests Karaoke Instead

Matt Cowan/Getty Images

On the right night, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst can be a truly electric, mesmerizing live performer. On the wrong night, Oberst seems like he’d love to be anywhere except up onstage. Last night in Houston, Oberst evidently had the wrong kind of night.

As Brooklyn Vegan reports, Oberst sang two songs at last night’s show at White Oak Music Hall. After singing “Dance And Sing” and “Lover I Don’t Have To Love,” Oberst left the stage. According to a thread of tweets from Jezebel writer Caitlin Cruz, Oberst’s bandmates played some more songs, doing Bright Eyes karaoke. Members of the crowd got up and sang Bright Eyes songs, backed by the band itself. Oberst never returned to the stage, and the venue issued refunds, emailing ticket buyers, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Bright Eyes was unable to perform.”

As Brooklyn Vegan notes, there have been other reports about Oberst acting erratically at different Bright Eyes shows on this tour. Oberst has a long history of being weird onstage, and he can seem like he’s having a hard time even at the best Bright Eyes shows, but this whole thing still seems not great.

We’ve reached out to Bright Eyes’ camp for comment, but thus far, the band hasn’t made any statements about last night’s show.

more from News