Return of the Rentals, Take 3

I was fortunate enough to hear about Rentals' final show of the current tour at the Henry Fonda (after my previous Rentals post, mind you) and scored tickets for the lovefest last night. And what a lovefest it was.

Well, first things first. Opening band Copeland kinda blew. To be fair though, a couple members couldn't make it due to family issues, and the band soldiered on with an acoustic set rather than cancel. That said, you know it's pretty bad when this exchange goes on:
"I hope they play a cover."
"Of whom?"
"Anybody."

On to the main show. I was really hoping the Rentals would open the way they've been doing throughout the tour, with the 2046 strings intro and "Move On," but they just came out and rocked the house. They played all the hits, including "Friends of P," "Waiting," "Barcelona," and a bombass version "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams," with Rachel Haden, Lauren Chipman & Sara Radle all sharing vocals. Magnificent.

And, for the record, they did eventually play "Move On," to start the encore. Although sans 2046, it was still the highlight of the show for me. Anyway, since I didn't take any pictures and it'll be a couple of days before any bootlegs possibly begin rolling out, here's their intro from Chicago with all that great crap I've been harping about:

Return of the Rentals, Take 2

For those of you who don't remember the Rentals, they were that fun, power pop supergroup that used a lot of the Moog in the mid to late 90's. They received minimal radio airtime but did gain a modest amount of exposure via Matt Sharp's Weezer and Rachel Haden's That Dog connections.

After dropping off the face of the earth during the early part of this decade, the band decided to tour again last summer, and after hearing rave reviews, I'm pretty damn pissed at myself for not getting tickets.

However, I was able to procure the audio for their Denver set, and let me just say that they do indeed sound freaking magnificent. Two personal highlights include a faster version of "Move On" and their rendition of Weezer & Rachel Haden's b-side "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams," both of which I've included below for your pleasure.

So, in terms of music newsworthiness, the band's doing a residency on XMU every Tuesday in September, a new album's expected soon, and hopefully another tour's gonna follow.

Rentals - Move On (Denver live)

Rentals - I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams (Denver live)