A Night with Benches at the Bronze Peacock

Benches are a Southern California based band, who visited the Bronze Peacock at House of Blues on May 1st, 2024. The members are Anson Kelley on vocals/guitar, Ethan Bowers on drums, Evan Ojeda on lead guitar and Charlie Baird on bass. They are currently on their headline tour which will come to a close on May 15 in Phoenix, Arizona. 

The night started off strong with San Antonio band Floats opening the show up. They brought the energy needed to warm the crowd up for Benches. Performing some of their songs “Conspiracy Theory” and “Dancing With Our Feet” they were the perfect openers for this indie music filled night. 

When Benches finally took to the stage, fans were in for a treat as they opened up the show with their newly released song “Naive.” The crowd roared as they realized the new song was being performed. “And you’re so Naive, when you get too close to me” the fans sang.

As the night went on they performed some fan favorites such as “Monodrama” and “Crash.” The crowd were a lively bunch moving to the beat of Ethan’s drumming. They also performed a new song that Anson mentioned they didn’t even have a title for yet and were calling “song number 5” for now. He promised they would finish the song when they all make it home from tour. 

The night ended with the boys walking off stage and coming back for the encore to perform their final song for the night “Violent.” When the lights came up fans lined up for their chance to get their Benches merch. Not long after, the band came out to meet fans and talk for a bit. I got to talk to them for a while and we bonded over our love of the band Inhaler. I let them know that I loved their performance when I saw them open for Inhaler in Santa Ana, California last summer. Anson mentioned that opening for Inhaler was one of the best moments for them as a band and that he still couldn’t believe they’d done so. Evan commented on my Inhaler shirt and recalled running to buy that same shirt the day they were opening for Inhaler. The boys were a friendly bunch and great to talk to. They happily took pictures with other fans lining up to meet them, and I was on my way. Benches delivered a short but sweet set of Indie rock songs leaving Houston fans very happy. They only have a handful of shows left before their tour ends so be sure to catch them, they are an amazing band to see live.