The Morning Benders at the Silverlake Lounge

I unfortunately always seem to have conflicts when there are good shows at the Silverlake Lounge. My schedule was cleared when I saw the quadruple line up of The Morning Benders, Voxhaul Broadcast, Eugene, and Rosewood Thieves.



The Morning Benders impressed me with their breezy sunshine indie rock a few weeks ago at the Viper Room. Chris Chu (Guitars) was rocking a Fender Telecaster which complemented the Fender Stratocaster tones by Joe Ferrell (Guitars). I enjoyed "Damnit Ana" again this time and think the song could easily breathe some life into stale airwaves of radio. They also nailed a cover of Joy Division's "Ceremony" right down to the hollow carving guitar lines. I picked up both releases "Loose Change" and "Boarded Doors" for archival in my ipod.




Voxhaul Broadcast has been on my radar for quite some time. I having been listening to their latest release "Rotten Apples" and was hoping they could translate the energy on the cd to their live show. Voxhaul Broadcast easily exceeded my expectations and rocked the Silverlake Lounge. Phillip Munsey (Bass) had a Gibson Custom Bass that was rumbling the whole room.Their sound was a variant of the foot stomping parts of Kings Of Leon mixed with the soul of the Cold War Kids combined with the garage rock of the Strokes. It will only be a matter of time before they start opening for bigger bands and generate some serious buzz.



Eugene had me intrigued after a few spins on his myspace page. Eugene is a one man band fronted by Brandon Owens who has a background as touring bassist for jazz and pop bands. Brandon found some time to put down his bass and pick up his acoustic guitar for some compelling demos that seem have been unearthed from the Bob Dylan era. Brandon had a smoky haziness attribute to his voice that really makes him stand out. Brandon was backed by the Rosewood Thieves as they helped round out his sound to make the songs shine with a full band. "California" particularly caught my ear with its jangly sound. I will be keeping a close eye on Eugene.


The Rosewood Thieves from New York closed out the night with their brand of folk rock. I was impressed Paul's guitar setup as he had a Crowther Hot Cake overdrive pedal, a Deluxe Memory Man, and a Pulsar to vary up his guitar tones. Mackenzie (Keyboards) added some delicate keys to their soundscape to round out their sound. "Los Angeles" was one of their many stand out tracks that bores into your head. I will be checking them out again when they play Little Radio.