I really need to warm up to the Morning Benders.
I dove in head first this week seeing them twice. Once as the Morning Benders and the second time today as Chris Chu.
I was really amazed by the good sound of his vocals. Today's gig just solidified my admiration for this band, specifically their lead singer.
This gig was an all request show. He gave the set list to the audience to decide. I'm not surprised by the song choices - a lot of them were stuff I had heard the night before. Someone in the crowd yelled for "Lovefool" - I immediately questioned whether I heard the song right, or perhaps a similar titled song. It was indeed his rendition of the Cardigans' hit "Lovefool." It was a little messy on a whole - he didn't really know the words. He didn't even make it all the way to the chorus before he stopped himself. I felt the crowd could've helped him on this one.
"Lovefool" from today's gig:
I was most excited to hear his stripped down version of "Excuses" with a crowd that really appreciates them. Much to my chagrin, there was very little crowd participation. In his performance, he called upon people to give him a hand singing the "La da das" and "ba dums" - no such luck. They sort of chimed in, but in true Canadian fashion, everyone was too shy to do a damn thing. I tried my best, but i'm super shy to sing in any given condition. It was however nice to be in the company of people who actually care to hear the band.
He played a very quiet tune he said he wrote after watching Annie Hall. Go figure, what a charming guy, I couldn't help but laugh when he said that. I really liked how bare it was, bare bones. Here's a clip of his performance of "Annie" today:
I really hate their recorded material, with the exception of the perfect song "Excuses". It is, quite possibly one of the most lovely songs i've heard in a while. One that can actually get even lovelier when the crowd reciprocates. I've been on a real hunt for the last hour or so to find the tune that I really loved both of the times I saw them live in the last 48 hours. I'll keep you posted. But for the time being, these are the only two songs I liked recorded by this band -
My affinity towards this band is really odd. I really don't like their recorded music, but live they have a really nice sound. The lead singer, Chris Chu is something to talk about. After a bit of detective work, I found out he graduated in 2007 from UC Berkeley, which puts him at 25. I was curious, because with his thin frame I pegged him at 20 give or take a few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment