Cauldron

Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Marc Brubaker THE RENTALS wowed the crowd with their synthesizer-driven melodies and high energy performance.

I sat in a chair in the corner of the large, empty Warehouse Live ballroom, waiting for a pop-rock star from my pre-high school days to walk in and sit across from me. The sense of anticipation was somewhat daunting. The sound check in the next room was over, and the tour manager approached me followed by Matt Sharp, the former bassist for Weezer, wearing his customary horn-rimmed glasses and a tired look in his eyes.

Sharp has been on tour with his long-time side project, the Rentals, for six weeks, in support of their recently released EP. And he has the flu. Luckily, these circumstances did not affect his stage presence. On stage, Sharp bounced around exuberantly, interacting substantially with fans by making frequent eye contact and occasionally reaching out and playfully grabbing their faces.

The small stage of the Warehouse Live studio was filled to its edges by six band members, intermittent special guests and an assortment of instruments. The musicians moved around the stage frequently, switching instruments after nearly every song, but the Moog synthesizer that is the driving force of the Rentals' sound remained constant in the front and center position.

The Rentals sound like a cross between Weezer and keyboardist Rachel Haden's former band, That Dog. "The first Rentals record was an excuse to work with Rachel and her sister Petra," Sharp said. The band's extensive three-part female harmonies and layered vocals are homage to That Dog, while the guitars and melody lines are reminiscent of Weezer's old days. The synthesizer, however, is something completely new. "We started to add strings to the album and all the synthesizer, and I guess it just felt very natural to us," Sharp said.

The night opened with a performance from Goldenboy, a California indie-rock band that had a sound perfect for rolling down the car windows and driving to the beach but a less-than-exciting performance. Front man Shon Sullivan later joined the Rentals on-stage as a special guest.

It appeared that much of the crowd was there to see Copeland, the middle act. This was the band's third acoustic show of the tour, as their drummer decided to go home to see his family. "We try to keep our priorities straight," said lead singer Aaron Marsh. "Family first." Copeland's two acoustic guitars were joined by a friend on violin.

Continued...

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