Following the massive success of last year's incredible record Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman has graduated to a new level of fame and a new status of venues. After selling out multiple nights of the intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg in the fall of 2024, Lenderman quickly announced the step-up to the larger Brooklyn Steel and proceeded to sell it out in a near instant. For three nights in a row, Lenderman has led the Wind through a changing setlist and a performance that firmly establishes Lenderman's position as the indie rock star of his time. After a Crazy Horse-like slow burn of a jam from Ghost of Your Guitar Solo to kick off the night, the band set the tone of blown-out fuzz and droning guitar that get the crowd pumped with each carefully aimed shred of amplified distortion. After the long into song, Lenderman took to the microphone to say hello to the crowd. "We are MJ Lenderman and the Wind and the Wind is fluid." He began, It's ever changing. Tonight it has an extra member, please welcome Karly!" The Wednesday singer and ex-romantic partner of Lenderman took to the stage and would guest on backing vocals and tambourine for the rest of the night. After the release of Manning Fireworks, Lenderman announced he would no longer be a touring member, which followed the news that MJ and lead singer Karly Hartzman had ended their relationship while the band was on tour. Seeing her join the band on stage tonight was perplexing, but more importantly it was exciting and encouraging to see their relationship remain firmly and strongly enough intact for them to still play great music together. The band wasted no time getting right to the good stuff and hit us with a crunchy "Jokers Lips" right into a seismic rendition of "Wristwatch" that had the whole crowd singing along. It was a wild moment to see the impact Lenderman has had in such a short amount of time as the crowd continued to join along on vocals when he slammed into "She's Leaving You" and when Hartzman hit the vocals at the end to bring it home, it was a divine moment and a peak of the night. Hitting the amusement park section of the night, Lenderman crushed "Six Flags" before taking us to "Toontown" and wrapping things up with a cover of "Uncle Disney," this section of the night moving more towards reverb and feedback heavy portion of MJ's exhilarating guitar work. The droning jams continued with a vengeance as the set progressed and walls of sound crashed during "TLC Cage Match" before moving towards the end of the main set. "Rip Torn" was a beloved slow burn that once again had the crowd shouting back to lines like "there's milkshakes and there's smoothies" with a heightened sense of joy. Right before the end, we had a lively moment when MJ warned us "don't move to New York City babe, it'll change the way you dress," which naturally was met with more fanfare, but we were blown away with the track's raucous finish and all out noise jam that erupted with fervor. The encore was led by the bassist as he warmly thanked the crowd for three sensational nights before encouraging his bandmates to play three more songs for the occasion. "Rudolph" was another banger and hit right in Lenderman's sweet spot that he's currently sitting firmly in these days. To bring the night to a close, he delivered a rocketing performance of "Knockin" that had the band blasting away through endless howls and heaps of powerful guitar. As Lenderman's popularity has continued to soar, he's been a force in matching the hype that's come his way. At this point MJ Lenderman is sitting firmly as a next-level talent who can only go up from here.
Set list:
01 "Ghost of Your Guitar Solo"
02 "Joker Lips"
03 "Wristwatch"
04 "She's Leaving You"
05 "Toontown"
06 "Six Flags"
07 "Uncle Disney" [Patterson Hood cover]
08 "TLC Cage Match"
09 "Basketball #2"
10 "You Have Bought Yourself a Boat"
11 "Rip Torn"
12 "Manning Fireworks"
13 "SUV"
14 "37 Push Ups" [Smog cover]
15 "You Don't Know the Shape I'm In"
16 "Bark at the Moon"
17 "No Mercy"
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18 "Rudolph"
19 "On My Knees"
20 "Knockin'"
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