The Morning Benders play Big Echo at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge

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San Francisco four-piece The Morning Benders played with Cults and Twin Sister at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge on Tuesday night in support of their recent breakthrough release, Big Echo. The two openers played lively sets that seemed to intrigue the crowd, although Twin Sister had repeated technical problems that pushed the start of The Morning Benders’ set to 11:40 pm, which was pushing it for a weeknight. Luckily for the band, most of the crowd seemed to already be fans and were excited when Chris Chu and his bandmates finally appeared.

The intro to “Excuses” played over the speakers as the band took the stage, but it was just a tease to set the stage for a night of songs from Big Echo. Chu introduced the band after the first song of the set and said that the band would play the album pretty much in its entirety, which they did, switching up the order and adding in a few old favorites. Live, the band lives up to its sound and that appropriate album name. Everything about The Morning Benders is sonically sprawling and layered into a rich sound that has just a slight haze over it, and Big Echo says that perfectly.

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“Wet Cement” and “Promises” played like perfect encapsulations of The Morning Benders strong and specific sound. Catchy thumping beats pervaded the songs and Chu sang with an airy and heartfelt sensitivity, his quirky movements only making him look more genuine. “Mason Jar,” “Stitches,” and “Pleasure Sighs” showed the band at their quietest and most simple, which works as well for them live as it does on the album. Sensing the crowd’s oncoming yawns as the clock ticked past midnight, Chu said that they now wanted to play some dance songs, livening up the energy with the catchy and irresistibly fun “All Day Day Light” and “Cold War.”

After playing the rest of the songs from Big Echo as well as older favorite “Boarded Doors,” the moment finally came for the band to end the show with their spectacularly beautiful song “Excuses.” The lilting, Etta James-era strings began to play and the crowd instantly began to sway along. Chu’s voice sounded perfectly placed among the strings, rhythmic guitar, and clacking drums. As the song reached the halfway point, the crowd eagerly joined in on the multi-part doo-wop vocals until it sounded like the whole venue was part of the song. As far as concert sing-a-longs go, this one ranked pretty high. With Big Echo, The Morning Benders have created a masterpiece of their own distinct sound, and it sounded better than ever in the intimate basement of the Doug Fir.