Thursday May 8 (8:30pm)
If toe-tapping is wrong, then the Morning Benders don't want to be right. But, of course, they are — singer Chris Chu's smooth lilt wraps tightly around a cozy, floor-scuffing groove. Sure, the Bay Area rollers rely on Nuggets-esque vamping and folk-country rhythms but they evades the retro tag by virtue of their youthful buoyancy and an apparent comfort in the bright, new pop mold popularized by the Shins. Indeed, their upcoming Talking through Tin Cans is a crisp, occasionally nostalgic collection that is for the most part quirky and refreshing. Tonight they honor the record's release with a set of newly minted jams.
– Nick Earhart