(photo credit)
Last Friday marked another highlight for Midpoint’s Indie Summer series on Fountain Square with a solid lineup headlined by The Wrens.  The weather was sticky, and downtown parking was sure to be a [expletive].  Still, it’s not often that one can catch a FREE show from these power pop veterans from New Jersey, so I made sure to take advantage of the opportunity.

By the time my friend and I had won the battle for a [free] parking spot, The Atriums were finishing their set.  They sounded more like an indie band from the 90s (Pavement, Broken Social Scene, and Dinosaur Jr. came to mind), so it seemed like an  appropriate choice to open for The Wrens.  Goose followed soon after.  I was unfamiliar with their music, but one glance at their Myspace gave me a good idea; their influences included the Beatles, The Band, Elvis Costello, and The Kinks.  Upon first listen, it was obvious the band loved classic rock, and their set did justice to the genre.

Besides The Wrens, The Harlequins were the only other band on the lineup that I had seen before.  I had recently seen them at Southgate House two weeks earlier for their CD release show, but I was still anticipating their set.  They didn’t disappoint, unsurprisingly, and the crowd seemed to dig the band’s unique blend of psychedelic pop, surf, and experimental rock.

Despite the fact that The Wrens haven’t released a full-length album since 2003’s The Meadowlands,  a sizable crowd had gathered for the show.  Even though The Wrens had only played a handful of shows this summer, they played flawlessly, aside from a brief interruption when drummer Jerry McDonald answered his cell phone between songs.  Still, whatever the crisis was, the band continued as normal after McDonald held the phone up and had the audience yell “Hang in there, Tony!”.  The set was highlighted by several songs from The Meadowlands, with loud, fast versions of “Faster Gun” and “Everyone Chooses Sides” that got the crowd moving.  Judging by the band’s energy, it would have been pretty hard to gather that The Wrens have been around for two decades.  The only giveaway might have been Kevin Whelan’s bass, which was held together with duct tape.

Surprisingly, The Wrens ended the show with two encores.   Singer/bassist/keyboardist Kevin Whelan first led the audience in a sing-along version “This Is Not What You Planned.”  The rest of the band then joined him for an epic version of  “She Sends Kisses” to finish the show.

I’m slightly disappointed The Wrens didn’t play any new material, and further dashing my hopes for a new album in the near future.  Still, I can’t complain after such an amazing show.  Considering that Indie Summer was Wrens’ fans last opportunity to catch them live for months,  I’d say the show was definitely worth the post-show hearing loss.