LONDON, Ont. - It's safe to say a cult hero is in the house when the local brew can be joked about -- and the crowd sees nothing wrong with that.

That cult hero was Omaha rocker Conor Oberst, who was one with his young fans at Centennial Hall last night. Oberst took a swig from a beer early in the show by his band Bright Eyes, then possibly kissed off a lucrative commercial deal in the process. There was a big cheer for that -- even if it delayed the start of Train Under Water, the second song. Bright Eyes had opened with a powerful roots rocker, Four Winds.

The cheer clearly amused the cool, collected Oberst, who looked up from under his cowboy hat. "It's not that exciting," Oberst said. "It's Labatt's Blue."

Bright Eyes represents Oberst's vision -- and last night's crowd of 750 fans was buying right into it.

Oberst, just 26 and with more than 10 years of songwriting behind him, has had many side groups. Bright Eyes has brought him the biggest fame, particularly with last year's double release of the electronica-influenced Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and the alt-rootsy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek/Outside).

Those albums provided plenty of last night's set list, including the encore's first tune, the bittersweet Take It Easy(Love Nothing). Other songs from the 2005 double shot given the full roots treatment were Poison Oak and Old Soul Song.

Oberst and bandmates Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott are working on a new project and have recorded about 20 tracks so far. The yet-to-be-named disc won't be released until February or March 2007 and Oberst isn't offering many details about the sound or lyrical tone, only describing it as a blend of folk music and "experimental rock."

Mogis, on guitar and other instruments, and Walcott, on keyboards and trumpet, were in the lineup last night. Oberst's girlfriend, Maria Taylor, was the drummer -- or "the most beautiful drummer in the world," as Oberst said in introducing the band. A fiddle player and bassist rounded out Bright Eyes, a group in constant flux, last night.

Oberst began recording when he was 14 and past hits from the Oberst songbook included Well Whiskey and We Are Free Men, with its sharp lyrics about "the future spilling its intangibles."

Oberst's vocals were audible from just about anywhere in the hall last night, a key consideration for someone who keeps resisting comparisons with Bob Dylan. Sometimes, the delicate mix of accordion, fiddle, keyboards and Oberst's guitar was muddy -- but that's the risk you take when a studio genius with Leonard Cohen soul and eyes goes on the road with an outfit that can be as faithful to its Americana roots as the Band.

Fans called out requests and song titles whenever Bright Eyes paused -- and there were quite a few pauses last night. At one point, Oberst decided to straddle Mogis -- introduced as "my better half" -- while the bandmate was trying to play his lap steel. Maybe Oberst thought that meant it was time for a lap dance.

It's easy, too easy, for a critic comfortably outside the cult to poke a little fun at Bright Eyes. Oberst and pals shambled off stage at a relaxed lope and then kept the fans waiting and waiting for the encore. Oberst twanged his guitar a lot, like a kid with a new toy.

At one point, the Blue seemed to take its own revenge. "I've got to relieve myself. I'll be back in 25 seconds," Oberst said around the 50-minute mark before actually leaving the stage. The band fooled around aimlessly while he was gone, the most relaxed point in a show that was occasionally almost sloppy.

For all that, it's safe to say, cult or not, no London crowd this year will hear songs as beautifully twisted and shaped as Oberst's -- or a band that believes in its mission with the intensity of Bright Eyes.

Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys was solo in the opening set. Singing in Welsh (or so it seemed), Rhys had looped drum samples, bird calls, throat-clearings and air rushing through a twirled vacuum cleaner tube. Such devices all helped in creating a mountain ballad setting for his songs.

Rock with American bands continues at Centennial Hall tonight when Godsmack headlines and Friday, when AFI is the headliner.