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May 22, 2010 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Los Angeles can’t get enough of Broken Bells, the recently formed collaboration between James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse). Although Broken Bells’ Wednesday night performance at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood was only the second show of its first tour, the sold-out concert was the band’s third headlining club gig in Los Angeles since February.

A ‘60s psychedelic vibe wafted through the room as Mercer—backed by six musicians, including Burton on drums—impressed his pop sensibility upon songs with titles such as “The High Road” and “Sailing to Nowhere,” delivering lyrics that implore listeners to “close your eyes” and “let your mind go.” The band was bathed in soft purple lights throughout the show, while spacey animated and illustrated imagery was projected on a large screen behind the musicians, often creating shadowy patterns across their faces. When they broke into a late-set cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover,” the Velvet Underground aura was undeniable.

Executing striking vocal harmonies, the band ran through all 10 songs from its eponymous debut with precision, opening with “Vaporize” and locking into a potent groove on “The Ghost Inside.” The latter song closed with an instrumental flourish that drew the loudest cheers of the show’s first third. Burton stepped out from behind the drums to play electric piano on the Bowie-esque “Citizen” (which concluded with a trumpet solo) before strapping on a guitar for “Trap Doors.” Set closer “The Mall and Misery” gained power in the live setting, opening with a thumping bass drum during an extended intro that had the crowd clapping along. Mercer and Burton, however, remained reserved through the hour-long show. The conclusion of “Sailing to Nowhere,” another song that has extra muscle live,” brought a smile to Mercer’s face.

Only Mercer and Burton returned to the stage for the encore. Burton sat again at the keyboard as Mercer introduced “Insane Lullaby”—from the Danger Mouse-Sparklehorse album Dark Night of the Soul—as a song “Brian and I wrote with our friend Mark,” referring to the recently deceased Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous. Mercer and Burton launched into the song together, before the other musicians joined in mid-song. The show closed with Broken Bells’ “October” and then Mercer happily handing a set list to a fan as he exited the stage.

Broken Bells is a credible and promising endeavor that, at this stage, is short of material and lacks the fun factor displayed in the band’s comical Tough Set of Judges videos, not to mention Burton’s previous partnership with Cee-Lo in Gnarls Barkley. With Broken Bells debuting at #7 on the Billboard 200 in March, it’s to be expected that the band will continue to fill progressively larger venues, but with a base ticket price of $35 already, let’s hope that the Broken Bells live repertoire can expand along with its fan interest.

www.brokenbells.com

Setlist:

Vaporize

The High Road

Your Head Is on Fire

The Ghost Inside

Citizen

Trap Doors

Sailing to Nowhere

Crimson and Clover

Mongrel Heart

The Mall and Misery

Insane Lullaby

October