Live Review: El Ten Eleven w/ Tall Tall Trees @ Pearl Street Warehouse — 9/19/26

September 25, 2026

I love it when El Ten Eleven comes to town. Unfortunately for me and their other fans in the area, it’s been a few years. But they returned on Saturday, Sept. 19 to Pearl Street Warehouse in support of their latest album, Nowhere Faster.

The band is a duo, made up of Kristian Dunn on all things bass-related and Tim Fogarty on drums and their kin. The band’s music is so complex and dense that part of the reason I am compelled to see them live is to see how they pull it all off live! Check out their latest single Uncanny Valley Girl and you’ll see what I mean.

Stream “Uncanny Valley Girl” by El Ten Eleven on YouTube:

The night began with the opening act, Tall Tall Trees. Despite sounding like a post-rock instrumental band, Tall Tall Trees is one man with a banjo (called Mike), a Casio keyboard, and a bunch of effects pedals. And that is all he needs! Watching Mike play is like watching Zach Galifianakis playing a concert between two ferns. He plays wild psychedelic music interspersed with humor and a sales pitch for branded air fresheners. At one point, he blessed an audience member who sneezed in the middle of a song without breaking stride. I love this guy!

There are a few things to know before seeing El Ten Eleven. The music is all instrumental. Vocals would just get in the way of the band’s supreme musicianship. But what makes El Ten Eleven’s shows even more interesting is seeing how the band builds each track. Kristian isn’t using samples. He builds each song from the ground up using loops. Tim uses a variety of acoustic and electric drums to create the foundation of the music. It’s almost an architectural way of playing live music and it’s fascinating to watch. I’m pretty sure Kristian is the only person I’ve seen play both necks of a double neck guitar at the same time.

Kristian tap dances around his vast pedalboard like a cross between a switchboard operator and Mikhail Baryshnikov. And if you don’t know either of those references, I don’t know that we can be friends.

Another thing to know is that El Ten Eleven does not play encores. When the show is over, it’s over. But the good part is that they play a lot of songs! After thanking everyone for coming out, they kicked off their set with their breakout song, “My Only Swerving.” No one said much (band or crowd) until after the third song, “Phenomenal Problems.” Perhaps Tall Tall Trees wore everyone out, but Kristian asked if we were studying, the crowd was so quiet. That made an impact, and the accolades came more regularly.

Halfway through the set, Kristian thanked Tall Tall Trees and recommended the air freshener. It’s a quality product and a fine value at just two dollars. A couple of tunes later, the band played an incredible cover of New Order’s “Your Silent Face.” This was a full-circle moment for me. The first time I ever saw El Ten Eleven was when they opened up for Peter Hook of New Order and Joy Division. The show wrapped up a few songs later, as promised, with no encore.

The set was a great mix of old and new songs. The musicianship was impeccable. And if you get the chance to see the band, take it. Every time I’ve seen them, I leave smiling from ear to ear, even without an encore.