I saw Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band on November 6th at Academy of Music in Northampton, MA. It was one of the best concerts i've been to. It was comparable to some of the amazing Bob Dylan concerts that i've attended. It was a VERY long, energetic, incredible show, and i was dancing and singing like a fool the entire thyme. Many people in the audience were saying it was better than seeing Bright Eyes. Of course, i will still always love Bright Eyes, so i can't say the same. I liked seeing both of them equally, to be completely honest.

Ben Kweller opened for Conor, which was incredible. I sang along to every word.

Conor's band has an impressive lineup (Conor playfully said that they're too good for him and he's afraid that they'll "break up with him" soon) :
Taylor Hollingsworth (guitar) is new to this scene. Before this, he was doing a more psychobilly-punk thing. Tracks from that are available on myspace and other various locations. I suggest looking them up, especially if you plan on seeing CO&TMVB because they played a few of Taylor's songs at their show. He is young and extremely cute, and had great interactions with Conor onstage.
Nik Freitas (guitar) was a welcome addition to Conor's new band. He toured with Bright Eyes along with The Felice Brothers last year. i saw them last November at Lupo's in Providence. He is very skilled at guitar, has a fun stage presence, and brought the band together as a whole, even though he was off to the side. Note: i embarassed myself after the show. i walked past Nik smoking a cigarette alone and unnoticed (all of the fans were surrounding Ben Kweller's attractive bass player instead) by the side of the building. i could have been cool and said a few calm and collected words to him, but instead i walked right up to him as though i was about to speak but then just stood there with my eyes wide and my mouth open. He was CLEARLY creeped out. Oh well :/.
Macey Taylor (bass) has played with many bands that fans of Bright Eyes should know and love. Check it out, he's everywhere. He's often described as a southern gentleman. He was quiet onstage, but livened up each song with his playing. He and Conor had many friendly interactions, and even did a duet together. He made me smile.
Thankfully, Nate Walcott (keys, trumpet) was there. If you don't know who he is, ask yourself where you've been for all of these years. He's always played with Bright Eyes. He's Nate, you know, the guy sweeping over the keyboard with his head bent down, face hidden by his dirty-blonde triangle of hair, on the righthand corner of the stage, towards the back. He only looks up once or twice during the show. i always pay close attention to him so that i can catch his eye when he happens to look up. When it was only him and Conor onstage, towards the end, Nate stared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns. It made the song so much better. There was so much emotion onstage. Nate's amazing. Give him a friendly shout of appreciation if you see CO&TMVB.
Lastly, there was Jason Boesel (drums). He is an interesting character. He plays in a very lively, enthusiastic fashion. i know he's toured with Bright Eyes before, as well as many other great bands. He's been around for quite a while. He gave a warm laugh when Conor did his usual stunt of climbing up on the amps and drums.
Conor Oberst - i'm not even gonna write about him. Fucking incredible.

Oh, yeah, and there were little stickers reading "The Mystic Valley Band for OBAMA '08" everywhere, even though the show was post-election. :]