Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the adorably (sorry, couldn't help it) talented couple behind indiepop band Mates of State, charmed the audience at Warehouse Live on Thursday, June 12. Who was there? What'd they wear? Which songs were played? Get all the gossip (okay, a recap and videos) after the jump.

Headlights and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears opened for Mates of State, but Eggs and I weren't able to make it in time to catch their sets. (Which stinks, because I really wanted to see Headlights, and Eggs had hoped to catch Black Joe Lewis.) We arrived with just enough time to grab drinks, catch up with our favorite sound engineer, and survey the crowd before MoS took the stage. Females were in abundance, as could be expected, and their excited conversations bounced and bobbed around us. Gardner and Hammel soon made their entrance and seated themselves behind an electric organ and a drum kit, respectively. They opened with the synth-heavy "Now" from their most recent studio effort, Re-arrange Us. Gardner's voice was immediately striking and pleasing to the ear, but I must admit that this is not my favorite from their catalog - the repetitive use of the word "now" just kills it for me.

Note: Photos were taken by Eggs on June 6, 2008 at the Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival.

The girls directly behind us became audibly ecstatic when they heard the opening notes of the duo's next song, "Fraud in the 80's" from 2006's Bring It Back. During their third song, the piano-heavy ballad "Like U Crazy", cellist Lewis Patzner and violinist Anton Patzner, both of Oakland-based string metal band Judgement Day, joined the husband/wife team on stage. This tour marks the first time MoS have included additional regular performers on their roster. (Eggs reports that the Patzners were not present at the previous weekend's MoS performance at Wakarusa, however.) I felt that the strings added further depth to the already lush sound, and I'm glad that Gardner and Hammel opted to add them to the tour.

The remainder of the set included most of Re-Arrange Us, but they also spanned their entire catalog. Bring It Back was the most heavily represented of the other albums, with four more songs in addition to "Fraud in the 80's" and "Like U Crazy" being played. Unfortunately for the guy behind us who kept bellowing his request, they did not play "Little Boxes", their take on the Weeds theme.

Overall, MoS delivered an infectious, captivating set. It's easy to understand why so many females are drawn to the band - what girl hasn't found herself fantasizing about creating music while gazing admiringly into her lover's eyes? (Yeah, me neither.) Gardner and Hammel shared numerous glances during their set, and they seemed to be having little conversations throughout the show as well. Their personae are either irresistibly cute or irritatingly saccharine; after careful consideration, my opinion leans more toward the former.

As for the music itself, it's easily accessible and palatable. My ears appreciated the contrast MoS offered by using downtempo bridges in their predominantly uptempo work, but after several songs in the same vein, they began to seem almost formulaic. A facet of their music that I did truly enjoy was their use of complementary but almost dueling vocals, which served to accentuate the underlying playfulness inherent in their lyrics. Gardner and Hammel aren't doing anything groundbreaking, but they are creating enjoyable singalong-worthy pop music. Thursday's audience certainly responded - it was one of the loudest shows we'd experienced in Warehouse's studio. Even Eggs heartily nodded his approval; after MoS' Wakarusa set, he was left feeling lukewarm, but was much more impressed by the set we caught this night.

Standout songs for me included "Goods" from their 2004 EP All Day, "Find the Actor" from Bring It Back, and the encore-ending "The Re-arranger" from Re-arrange Us. "Jigsaw" was also particularly good - for a moment at the beginning it even brought to mind Wilco's "Outta Site (Outta Mind)".

Random observations that made me smile:
Hammel's shirt, which appeared to have some sort of hipster version of a sailboat on it.
The incredibly excited kids at the bar who jumped incessantly and were so into the show that they almost eclipsed it.
The arms-crossed-just-so, emotions-are-not-allowed couple standing next to us. Loves it.

Mates of State will be making several festival appearances in the coming months; check their official website for more information.

--Cereal