Maybe it was the name that first caught my attention – sometimes a band name can be enough for me to listen (or in some cases not listen). The Morning Benders sounded intriguing, not your typical The (insert noun or verbs here) band name – a trend which took hold in the early 2000s.
After one listen to Big Echo, the Benders’ second LP, my band-name intuition proved to be spot on. And when I discovered the band was opening for Broken Bells, the offering of an stellar night of music was on hand.
I did worry for the Benders, though, as the 40 Watt has a tendency to eat quiet bands alive – especially openers. Most time people show up to drink and talk while waiting for the headliners, but even the headliners get shouted down at times. When Camera Obscura came to the Watt last year, Tracyanne had to ask the crowd to pipe down before playing one of their quieter selections – and I did feel a bit embarrassed by the whole event.
Big Echo is a quiet album (baroque pop I’ve heard it called) though it’s an exquisite feast. It can also be loud, as evidenced Friday night.
While lead singer Christopher Chu looks like he might be 12, he did an excellent job commanding the stage and chatting amiably with the audience, a crowd which seemed to know more of the Benders’ songs than Chu would have guessed. Actually most of the guys in the band look underage, except for Julian on bass (he did have a beard after all), but their sound was mature and proper, with a quiet-loud-quiet take moving through the performance.
The band opened with Stitches, adding Mason Jar and Promises to the set with a steady flourish. The set proved too short, they seemed to stop before they really got going, but did end with a bang while performing Excuses, the album’s lead single which has a nice sing-along section the crowd was able to easily absorb. Christopher took hold of the lead singer role with confidence, then strapped on the guitar at the song’s end to bring the set to a rousing conclusion.
Of the performances on the night, The Morning Benders proved the more entertaining live act (Broken Bells barely mustered more than an occassional “Thank You” though the music itself was righteous). The Benders are set to embark on a world-wide tour, and they’re certainly worth a look.
