Show Review: Voxhaul Broadcast at the Hammer Museum (7/22/10)

By Jackie Lam
Photos by Laurie Scavo

Let’s admit it: it takes a lot for a hipster to shake their bootang. At most shows you may get some mild head-bobbing by a drunk introvert idling next to the bar, or a bold arm shooting out from a sea of plaid shirts. All half-hearted attempts at connecting the kinesthetic to the sensory, if you ask me. But last Thursday at the Voxhaul Broadcast show at the Hammer Museum, the last installment of KCRW’s Also I Like to Rock summer concert series, the swell of energy and old-fashioned rawkus in the museum’s courtyard was enough to cut the city of L.A.’s energy bill in half.

 I may be going out on a limb to say that it might have a little to do with the tremendous, well-deserved buzz Voxhaul Broadcast has been getting of late. They are quite the local indie darlings, playing a set on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic earlier that week and being part of a bill for a special show celebrating Capitol Records’ 50^th anniversary.

 To watch Voxhaul Broadcast’s lead vocalist, David Dennis sing is like witnessing a wounded soldier. Dennis’ style conveys both sensitivity and ferocity, nimbly ambling on the guitar’s fretboard, while singing woeful songs of loss and lust. Although there was a minor snafu where one of his guitar strings disastrously snapped, Dennis shrugged it off and the rest of the show went off without a hitch. All members of the band giving their all, sparked waves of unfettered rocking-out from the evening's concert goers.

 Although I had listened to some of these tracks from a sampler awhile back, the intensity with which these songs were performed gave them a heightened new feel. They played some fairly new songs, such as "Shoot the Breeze" and "Fact or Fiction" and a few brand-spanking new ones, "Loose Chains," "Junkyard Dogs," and the phenomenal "Leaving on the Fifth." Their dense, angular, rangey songs sounded amazing that night. I cannot wait for their full-length album, which is slated to be released in October.

 The other acts that played earlier that night, Ferraby Lionhart and Chasing Kings, both played superb sets and are worth checking out. Chasing Kings, whom I’ve never heard of until now, played a set with delectably dense rock and lush melodies. Their set was augmented with live performance art, with loose, broad-stroked paintings that ranged from a cowgirl with a devil perched on her shoulder to an angel.  Ferraby Lionhart played an acoustic solo set that was heartfelt in its simplicity yet profound in its ability to do so much with so little. He’ll be celebrating his record release with a show at the Bootleg Theater on August 2^nd.

 At one point lead singer Dennis displayed a bit of a stage brat proclivities, did his version of crowd surfing, graciously falling into the crowd during the climax near the end of their set. That night’s lineup all possessed what you may call a relentless will to ROCK. I couldn’t think of a better way to end KCRW’s summer series.