MJ Lenderman played his first concert in five months in Durham, NC last night. His joint performances with Waxahatchee ran through May and the following month he dropped off Zach Bryan's tour for a well-deserved break, though he did play with Wednesday bandmate Karly Hartzman and Brad Cook at Tracey Nelson's popup show in the same city in July.
For Saturday's free show as part of Sylvan Esso/Psychic Hotline's Good Moon festival, moved inside to Bay 7 due to inclement weather, Lenderman played six unreleased songs, some of which he'd debuted on tour with Waxahatchee. He opened with a cover of Vic Chesnutt's "Gravity Of The Situation."
"Apples" and "LLT" appear to be debuts. He was not backed by the Wind, but instead by past collaborators Tanner York, Brad Cook, and Colin Croom (who also played on the Waxahatchee tour). Attendees posted on social media that Lenderman gave away his 2008 Jazzmaster — his longtime main guitar — at the end, and you can tell it's the same one that's been his go-to because it's taped up.
But according to a commenter on Stereogum's Instagram, Lenderman got it back: "I was the one that ended up with his guitar at the end of the set. Someone from his team asked for it back from me while I was on the way out though. Bummed I didn’t get to keep it but me and my friends got some cool pics with it!"
Check out clips below.