Omaha band The Conduits were at the evening’s pole position and provided a performance that was never quite able to turn the key over. Singer Jenna Morrison laid out some impressive vocals within the bands’ atmospheric bed of sonics. Their style was National-like, if National-lite, and after 2-3 songs you pretty much got the point.

Any lingering musical lint from the opener was swept away the moment Oberst took to the stage. His quivery charisma was a lightning rod for attention with few eyes leaving him the rest of the night. Showcasing a seasoned stage presence, Oberst was able to command the band’s tunes whether propelling forward on “Cassadage” or pumping the brakes on cuts like “Landlocked Blues.” Latest single “Jejune Stars” and old favorite “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” packed some of night’s most potent punches. The polarizing nature of the night manifested itself negatively when the tenderest moments of songs like “First Day of my Life” were stabbed with squeals and shrieks from audience members who forgot they were not in fact at a concert for the aforementioned Bieber. While good-natured and well-intentioned, they significantly took away from the performance and could not have contrasted more with the gentle gorgeousness of these acoustically based songs. The absence of Conor’s most beautiful and defining song, “Lua,” left the only deficit in satisfaction for the evening.

The front end of the set saw a Conor characterized by a striking maturity as he bared his songs live. The latter half of the concert, after some hefty imbibing, featured a more playful Conor. This was evinced by Oberst donning a random hat he had purchased that day at a Pearl St. kiosk for the encore and proceeding to give an extended, half-fictional, occasionally rapped introduction for his band mates that lasted over ten minutes. Even when overly gushing about his band, it was still all about Conor. This was not a bad thing as the audience was given a glimpse into sides of Oberst’s personality and mind that are not always on display. The introductions were about as close to too long as you can get without actually crossing over. It was deserved though. The band was fantastic, leaving little gap between the recorded and live sounds. Producer and multi-intrumentalist Mike Mogis was a standout on pedal steel with piano-man Nate Walcott being key; steadfastly and subtly keeping the sounds true to record. The dual drummers also brought an interesting aesthetic both visually and sonically.

The night’s performance couldn’t have ended on a better note than with “The People’s Key”’ thesis “One For You, One For Me.” It also couldn’t have left on a better visual than Conor singing the song’s outro, supine on the hands of the crowd as a roadie grabbed his foot, trying to reel the effervescent frontman back in.