BENDER

Only once in a lifetime does an album like this appear. Only once in a millennium does it become possible at all. But like the return of Hegel's Comet every 738 years or the coming of fresh leaves in the icy breath of spring, it was inevitable. It had to happen. In a world shrouded in the pitch darkness of war and political strife, Bender stands as a luminescent flashbulb of truth exploding before our eyes.

Super sessions come and super sessions go. Ever since Socrates jammed with Alcibiades and Anthony played with Cleopatra, they have been a mainstay of Western Civilization. All of them are memorable. All of them produce music beyond precedent. For when the gods meet and pool their talents, even if only for a few brief hours, the result is certain to be a monument to creativity itself.

Sly critics, of course, will continue to scoff. From their flimsy tin thrones of journalistic cynicism they will continue to exclaim "It's all a shuck" and "What can you expect from prima donnas who've never even rehearsed together?" But truly devout rock listeners will not be swayed by such bitterness. They know a super session when they hear one.

PERFORMED:
The Performing Garage, March, 2002
Motor City Bar, April, 1999
The Red Room, January, 1999
The Right Bank Cafe, October, 1998
The Red Room, August, 1998
The Ontological-Hysteric Theater Downstairs Series, May, 1998

SCRIPT: read online, download

REVIEWS:
Village Voice, James Hannaham Bender
"all attending the noon performance of Bender were treated to a Bloody Mary and an intoxicating thrill."

Back Stage, Jane Hogan Bender
"...a grown man wearing nothing but a silver lamé diaper."