Brendan Benson Show Is All Confused

As soon as openers The Paint Movement took the stage I was transfixed.

Having never seen this band live before, it didn't take long for me to fall in love. Their jazzy indie rock featured an eccentric mix of individuals who came together to produce some of the most moving music I've heard in a while.

Playing tracks off last year's Our Eurythmy, the band used a slew of instruments to create magic throughout their 45-minute set. Subtle synths and xylophones, soul-infused saxophones and Dee Planche's gorgeous backing vocals were just some of the highlights to this performance. The Paint Movement were told they were opening only earlier in the day, but the caliber of musicianship displayed suggested they'd been rehearsing for this show for weeks.

Brendan Benson graced the crowd with an awkward entrance before tearing into "A Whole Lot Better" off his just-released fourth album, My Old, Familiar Friend, followed by "Folk Singer" and "Eyes On The Horizon." Though this was part of his solo tour, his stellar backing band and great presence initially showed hints of his Raconteurs self.

Joined onstage by guitarist and keyboardist Mark Watrous, who toured with The Raconteurs last year, Ben Folds bassist Jared Reynolds and The Cardinals' drummer Brad Pemberton, the line-up was enough to make any rock fan a little starry-eyed, but the performance didn't live up to their collective resumes.

Benson's usual uncomplicated rock 'n' roll and heartfelt pop felt was delivered awkwardly as the band often consulted an extremely long set list that they cherry-picked tracks from.

After about 45 minutes, Benson and crew headed off stage only to realize they hadn't played long enough, so they came back for a lengthy encore that felt extremely unorganized. Kicking it off with "Tiny Spark," the band followed with "You're Quiet," "Alternative To Love," "Cold Hands (Warm Heart)," "Borrow" and finally "Feel Like Taking You Home."

Despite starting off strong, the second half of the show was disappointingly downhill and almost uncomfortable. Something was astray in Benson-land and not even a cheering crowd of predominately loud males could help him save this show.