Bright Eyes has been touring the United States since the end of March, but apparently, things haven’t been so luminary for select attendees. Last night (May 22), they had a Houston stop at The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall. The show was cut short just two songs in after Conor Oberst walked off the stage, forcing the band to engage the crowd in karaoke which eventually stopped as well. The venue declared they would issue refunds, Jezebel Senior Reporter Caitlin Cruz live-tweeted.
Bright Eyes played two songs. Conor Oberst walked off. And now the band is suggesting Bright Eyes karaoke with Bright Eyes for the crowd…
— Caitlin Cruz (@caitlinrcruz) May 23, 2022
Another attendee shared this footage of the karaoke, where fans were actually brought on stage:
Ok so Connor dipped after 2 songs at the Bright Eyes show in Houston tonight BUT here’s the audience members that came up to sing some songs with the rest of the band! pic.twitter.com/UqvJZGsW1S
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i love cake
(@destielegant) May 23, 2022
Here’s what others had to say:
The Bright Eyes concert is just audience-led karaoke with the band.
Congrats Houston on being a decent enough audience to figure out how to have fun no matter what.
— blair, a bear of very little apathy (@BEAwhiskeynerd) May 23, 2022
Yo, Bright Eyes had low ticket sales for their outdoor gig in Houston.
Forced out the Hypocrisy package into a much smaller venue than the one we were supposed to play in…
…Only for the Bright Eyes singer to show up drunk on stage & bail on the show 2 songs in.
Fuuuuck.
— Rob The Ripper ON TOUR ROADIE FOR THE AGONIST!
(@RobbyJFonts) May 23, 2022
At the Houston Bright Eyes concert and Conor Oberst did 1 song (and a half), sang the 2nd song halfway and walked off, clearly everyone in the band confused. I hope he’s okay. I’ve been to a ton of shows and never seen this. The band had audience members up for karaoke.
— Holly Lyn Walrath (@HollyLynWalrath) May 23, 2022
At the Houston Tx Bright Eyes show and Connor sang 2 songs and left the stage. The band is trying to salvage the show by allowing fans to sing karaoke versions of the set. I asked the ticket guy for a refund and he didn’t know what happened. I broke the news.
— tryhardnerdlover
(@laZ3rboi69) May 23, 2022
This situation drew a revelation from a past tour stop attendee that Oberst exhibited concerning behaviors at the indie rock band’s Nashville stop and shared accounts of his Cleveland show. Oberst was noted as making obscene comments and admitting he injured himself by falling off a stage in Detroit. The attendee cited he appeared inebriated.
for those of you who thought my Bright Eyes in Nashville commentary was exaggerated, here’s what people are saying about his Cleveland show last night: pic.twitter.com/g1mImUEfm7
— Lorie Liebig (@lorieliebig) April 3, 2022
None of the band members have made any comments about the situation. Bright Eyes is set to be in New Orleans this evening at Orpheum Theater and Stone Pony Summer Stage in New York City on June 3. They last released a companion version of St. Ides Heaven back in March, featuring the title track and “Contrast and Compare.” Stay tuned for more updates on Oberst and the band.