The Brendan  Benson show at the Belly Up was part of the FM 94/9 About the Music Foundation concert series where $1 of every ticket goes towards music education in schools. It was nice to see the place packed for that reason, because it was seriously packed, if not sold out. It was also packed with people who mostly looked my parent's age, but still.

Brendan Benson is the front man/guitar player of an indie rock quartet that included drums, another guitarist and a bassist. They were very solid and very indie. Benson himself, who is also a member of the Raconteurs, was a small, mousy kinda guy who drank Pelligrino through out the set. The other 2 guys up front looked a little out of place, as far as their style in contrast to the music. It was a good, but never really took off. Even if the song was upbeat, it still felt really mellow. There were a few issues with feedback as well, and over all it was just kinda "eh."

They played their newest single "A Whole Lot Better" which is catchy and fun, but the whole thing just felt sort of like "Doing That Thing You Do." There wasn't a lot of meat to it, which is probably good for radio, but bad for authenticity. I think maybe they're a better recorded band than live band, cause I do like listening to them.