TBD Festival, a three-day music, food, and shopping extravaganza came to Sacramento’s River Walk Park last weekend. On the North end, across the festival from the stalls of the mini bazaar sat the Lowbrau stage, huge and imposing.
It was on that stage that MS MR played Saturday evening, drawing in the crowd and whipping them up into a screaming, singing frenzy. The New York band started out the set with their single ‘Bones’, a song that showcased the dark rhythmic beauty of their music. Lizzy Plapinger, the singer and the MS part of the duo, dominated the stage both with her powerful, smoky voice and her exuberant dancing. Max Hershenow, the MR half was on the keyboards though he occasionally left the keys to come dance with Plapinger. The band played with obvious glee, both members grinning like Christmas had come early. According to Plapinger, this was the first show they had played in two months as that time had been spent in the studio. She played coy and would not say anything more about the possibility of a new album on the horizon, but the implication was there.
They went on to play several songs off their debut album Secondhand Serenade including ‘Salty Sweet’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Think Of You’ as well as ‘Ash Tree Lane’ which they turned into a cover of ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ by LCD Soundsystem. The set was topped off by a smoldering cover of Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Do I Wanna Know’ and finished with their big hit ‘Hurricane,’ the dust-laden air making the twirling light show around the band extend forever in seemly solid beams.
And then, suddenly, sadly, it was over. MS MR left the stage and with a collective sigh, the crowd dispersed into the opaque night to enjoy the rest of the festival.