Photo by Justin T. Gellerson
There’s a theory out there that drummers actually want to be lead singers although this is mostly evidenced by people like Phil Collins and Dave Grohl who put down the sticks and picked up the microphone. More recently, however, there’s been a crop of singers who lead the songs without putting down their sticks like No Age’s Dean Spunt and The Black Lips’ Joe Bradley. The person who seems to be the best at doing both at the same time is Michael Benjamin Lerner, bandleader of Telekinesis and his adeptness at handling both made for an incredibly dynamic and very memorable show.
As a drummer, Lerner is a powerhouse. His ability to pound away with precision and heat make us wonder why more drummers aren’t placed in the center of the stage. Conversely, as a singer, Lerner is often tender and vulnerable. This is a juxtaposition that’s joyous and thrilling more often than not. Still, every once in awhile, and noticeably during “Dark to Light,” his hard hitting overwhelmed his delicate tenor. Apparently, it also made playing Dormarion’s bouncy “Empathetic People” extremely difficult.
“Fuck me for writing that song,” he said. “That’s the worst song to be a singing drummer.”
Not all of the Telekinesis songs showcased his drumming prowess. During the ethereal “Ghosts & Creatures,” Lerner spent the song shaking a maraca as a drum machine tapped along in the background. Lerner even picked up an acoustic guitar for a few songs after first indulging the audience to a brief Q&A session (during which he informed one audience member that he couldn’t sing the harmonies to “Rhapsody”…because there weren’t any.) During his acoustic rendition of “Rust,” he thanked his touring bassist and Say Hi’s Eric Elbogen for taking Telekinesis along on their first tour.
Lerner was nothing if not endearing and grateful. He repeatedly thanked the crowd for coming out on a Monday night, led the crowd in a Happy Birthday sing-a-long and dedicated a song to NPR’s Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton. The band, which included Wild Flag’s Rebecca Cole on keyboards picked up on the enthusiasm which came to a head during their last song, “Tokyo.”
“We’re not going to do an encore. Those are just strange,” said Lerner, who invited the crowd to sing the chorus (which they did) and invited Mary Timony to join them onstage and play some auxiliary percussion (which she did.)
