Dennen digs Bloomington's fearless crowd

Brett Dennen shook his head repeatedly, spraying the audience with beads of sweat.

But attendee Kristen Kay said it was sexy sweat.

“He was drenched in testosterone,” Kay said. “I loved it.”

Singer-songwriter Dennen took the stage Tuesday  at The Bluebird with a level of charisma many termed as animation. His barefoot dancing and soprano crooning seemed infectious.

“My favorite was to watch people watch him,” senior Grace Wegener said. “Everybody was taken by him.”

Wegener confessed to singing too loudly to Dennen’s “Make You Crazy,” “Sydney,” “Ain’t No Reason,” “San Francisco” and “Comeback Kid.”

But for an atmosphere Wegener described as “pure joy,” she couldn’t resist, and she wasn’t alone.

“I’d have to say that I was singing about 60 percent of the time,” IUPUI senior Matthew Keen said. “Brett Dennen just has so much of a presence. He brought the whole stage with him.”

Though Keen said Dennen gave a great performance, he said he’s always been partial to Dennen-opener Blind Pilot.

“It’s amazing how they interact with each other,” Keen said. “I like that they played a lot of their older stuff, too. But when they played ‘We Are the Tide,’ the energy was awesome.”

The indie band is a mixture of harmonies and unorthodox, simple instruments, such as an upright bass, a banjo, a dulcimer and vibraphones.

Keen’s favorite Blind Pilot moment was when lead singer Israel Nebeker pointed to him after “One Red Thread.”

“We are testing the waters with this tour,” Nebeker said. “I think Bloomington showed us a good balance of energetic and calm.”

Nebeker and Blind Pilot drummer Ryan Dobrowski made a point to acquaint himself with the college town past the walls of The Bluebird.

“I randomly attended a Psych 101 class,” Dobrowski said. “I’m a better student now than I was back then. I was taking notes like crazy.”

But aside from spontaneous lecture-going, the band explored campus eateries like Greeks, Soma and Snow Lion, from which Nebeker had ordered food that was waiting on the tour bus for after the show.

Dennen said he’s a fan of the food scene, opting for his tradition of FARM or an occasional beet juice from Roots — but his favorite thing about Bloomington is a good crowd.

“They’re not afraid to just do this and say, ‘Whoo,’” Dennen said as he threw his arms in the air and shut his eyes.

Dennen said the objective of his latest album, “Loverboy,” was to make someone fall in love with him — and though he found her (“Kristen with a ‘K’”), his music is still casting the love charm on fans.

“The only disappointing part of the entire show was that he didn’t take the shots we handed him on stage,” Kay said. “I’ve seen him in Indy, San Diego, here — and now it looks like I’ll have to follow him to St. Louis next
weekend.”

For a WEEKENDtv interview with Dennen and Blind Pilot, visit:
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