Michael Benjamin Lerner and his band drew an unusually large crowd for a Monday night at the . The Seattle five piece played just under an hour of pre-psychedelic, Beatles-esque indie-pop to a nearly filled house, while most everyone sang along. Lerner sat wrapped in his drum kit at the front of the stage. Surrounded by the band, he belted out sweet bits of emotional pop with hooks catchy enough to rival Ben Gibbard.
“Power Lines” was a rocking affront backed with grinning mischief. “Wires” was a car-chase theme with emotional implications. And Lerner came out from behind the drums at one point to perform the sweet “Symphony,” mimicking a young Bob Dylan. “Tokyo,” the nightap closer, brought the house into a frenzy with its anthemic base.
Openers played a strong set of dream-pop that drew in a crowd as powerful as the headliner. Built around Jessica Lee Dobson (who also plays guitar for the Shins), the music is as dreamy as Beach House, but with more bite. Dobson is not only a brilliant multi-instrumentalist, her vocals are also a treat. Powerful, throaty and seductive, her singing acted as a weighty anchor for the band’s dreaminess.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
