morning benders at mhow

must second time around: morning benders at music hall of williamsburg. the second sold out show for the quintet from my homiest of home towns. if you haven't heard of them or seen the viral vid, you should friends - pronto. you'll understand what the fuss is all about.

holiday shores were a surprisingly pleasant opener. the lead vocalist reminded me of ezra from vampire weekend. i think it's the cardigan, no?

twin sister sat in since their normal band had some difficulties getting to the gig. dare i blame the volcano. anyhoot, the shores remind me of a mix between vampire weekend sans african beats and a little sprinkle of the surfer blood floridian beach water. they were good fun and a nice sunny warm up for the benders to come.

the interlude that welcomed the fab foursome to the stage was vintage bay area goodness. some r&b jam that i wasn't able to make out but was in the vein of an r. kelly groove. kmel love lines, anyone? chris and gang barreled into "stitches", followed by their first single off big echo, "promises". with the majority of the set coming from the new album, chris wanted to make each sold out gig special and played a new tune "go grab a stranger" for the brooklyn crowd. the kids wanted to dance and the benders obliged playing "all day day light".


all the fun came to a fitting conclusion with "excuses". i was disappointed that they didn't play it the last time i saw them. glad to have finally see the tune live complete with a up close and personal brush with chris.