A delightfully depressed Conor Oberst and his ensemble executed his sloppy melancholy melodies Sunday night when indie-rockers Bright Eyes performed their victory lap at the Sound Academy.

Mr. Oberst faced an audience of plaid-trimmed boys, aging hipsters and squeamish girls as he put on what is supposedly his final Canadian run under the Bright Eyes alias. The two-hour setlist stumbled through the group’s eighth and reportedly final album the People’s Key, while frequently honouring rarities that date back to his early ’90s releases. Popular classics, by Bright Eyes standards, were featured, including: “Four Winds”, “False Adverstising”, “Old Soul Song”, “Road to Joy” and “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”.

Every heartbroken devoted fan transitioned into a congregation of unconsciousness as the evening started with the spoken-word rambles from “Firewall”, the opening track of the new album. The conceptual mumbo-jumbo comes from Randy Brewer, a Texas musician that Oberst met while on the road. His sermon touches on vague ideas of the road to enlightenment, alien ancestors and something to do with Hitler? Brewer’s thought provoking sentiments reappeared at the end of the set, when Oberst and friends played out to “One For You, One For Me”.

One moment of brilliance shun when Oberst began hammering out the chords to “Shell Games”, the latest single and sung out in his famous fragile tones: “took the fireworks and the vanity, the circuit-board and the city streets” to the choir of the Sound Academy. As he ditched his routine position of an absentee singer-songwriter with guitar in hand, he lurked the crowd and danced in a frantic Thom Yorke-esque spasm, Oberst became a front-man. A few moments like this brought to mind the possibility of Bright Eyes pulling an Arcade Fire and maximizing on mainstream success. Though, that outcome may have set sail after the I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning / Casadaga gravy train left town in 2006.

Another highlight of the evening was the last song of the main set: “Lua”. Oberst strapped on his acoustic guitar and melodically traded verses with the tender brass voicing of his long-time collaborator, Mike Mogis. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t respect the song for what it is, a bittersweet love story, and attempted to sing-along. It was clear that Oberst was somewhat bothered by the response, but is likely familiar to at this point in his career.

Oberst, 31, released his first songs at 13 under the Bright Eyes persona. It began as a lo-fi home-recording project and has become a professional, full-orchestrated band. If one delves into his catalogue, the songs range from folk-rock to electronic to 1960s soul to plush soft-rock. More recent albums, including the People’s Key have leaned toward spirituality and he continues to channel Bob Dylan-esque mysticism.

While it was far from the perfect show is testament to the potential end of something special, Bright Eyes. The merch venders stock ran out of T-Shirts and Oberst’s passion for his music was ever so undeniable. Pitchy vocals and sloppy instrumentals aside, everyone seemed satisfied. Oberst’s next move should be interesting.

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John Mayer is back with a new album and a 2010 tour, according to the musician’s website, johnmayer.com.

Mayer’s new album, Battle Studies, is due out on Nov. 17. Mayer will then go on a tour to support the album in the Winter of 2010. Mayer has already released one single from the new album, called “Who Says.” Physical and digital presale orders for the album are being accepted until Nov. 10.

Mayer will also be playing a select few upcoming CD release concerts, including one on Nov. 24 at Toronto’s Sound Academy. This small tour also includes stops in Australia and New York.

You can see Mayer on tour in 2010 here:

1/15 Manchester, Manchester Apollo
1/16 Glasgow, O2 Glasgow Academy
1/18 London, HMV Hammersmith Apollo
1/19 Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton Civic Hall
2/8 Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum
2/9 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena
2/10 Nashville, TN Sommet Center
2/12 Auburn Hills , MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
2/13 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
2/16 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
2/17 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
2/19 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
2/20 Washington, DC Verizon Center
2/21 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
2/24 Boston, MA TD Garden
2/25 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
2/28 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
3/1 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
3/2 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
3/4 Omaha, NE Qwest Center
3/5 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
3/6 Houston, TX Toyota Center
3/8 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
3/9 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
3/10 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena
3/12 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
3/13 Louisville, KY Freedom Hall
3/15 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex
3/16 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
3/17 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
3/19 Memphis, TN Fed Ex Forum
3/20 St Louis, MO Scottrade Center
3/22 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
3/23 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
3/25 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
3/26 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
3/30 Portland, OR Rose Garden
3/31 Seattle, WA KeyArena
4/1 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
4/3 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
4/4 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
4/6 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
4/7 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
4/8 Fargo, ND FargoDome
4/10 Chicago, IL United Center

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