The Morning Benders at the Troubadour

Saw The Morning Benders (above, during soundcheck) at the Troubadour last night. Although Austin is a 1,200 miles away, the band is still in SXSW mode, mixing a few corporate gigs into their inaugural tour as headliners. They had plenty of juice, though, perhaps fueled by a homecoming of sorts. The brothers Chu grew up near Sawtelle. Jon (with the white guitar) says he remembers going to the GR Store when he was 5. I'm pretty sure he was joking.


Opening the show was We Barbarians from the LBC. Their solid brand of pop was subverted by some real unusual rhythms, almost like Three-Mile Pilot at times. Short and sweet. They have a Cold War Kids connection, if you're interested.


Yes, the long-haired dude is the singer and focal member of Miniature Tigers, but I paid the most attention to Rick Schaier (foreground, in Braves cap). While everyone else is fairly laid back, he is visibly feeling every bit of keyboard, guitar, drumming, or whatever he happens to be tending. The band's songs are super catchy and often spiked with layers of backing vocals, providing a nice transition into the headliners. (The band's new album is produced by the Morning Benders' Chris Chu, and Schaier worked overtime by lending keys to their set, too.)


The Morning Benders' new album Big Echo is an exquisitely crafted piece of dream pop that has been getting a lot of attention for the band's leap from more straightforward melodies as well as its connection to the red-hot Grizzly Bear. It was nice to see them pull off the balance of delicate melodies (left) and layers of sound (right). Does it work? First, the storied Rough Trade Records doesn't sign hack musicians. Second, if you zoom in the above pictures enough, you'll see nothing but smiling young female faces--and one dude--in the front row.



Above: The band's most famous video. I asked Chris why everyone looks so good in his world and he gave credit for Photoshop. Extremely humble, nice, talented guys. Like the Brooklyn (via Berkeley) band's audience and its trajectory, the tour is still fresh and young. Catch it now. Also, get their excellent (and free) covers album here.