Broken Bells Go Classic in Los Angeles

Posted on May 20th 2010 12:30PM by Steve Baltin
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When you only have one album and a sold-out crowd that made this one of the hardest L.A. shows to get into in some time, you have to be creative to give the fans their's worth. And as Broken Bells, the duo of the Shins' James Mercer and Danger Mouse, successfully found out on Wednesday night at the Henry Fonda Theater, covers never fail.

Following a packed crowd in San Diego the evening before, the band went classic to add in a little more, throwing in a rocking rendition of 'Crimson and Clover,' a 1960s hit for Tommy James and the Shondells updated for the '80s by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Mercer and Mouse's version fell somewhere in between the two generations, starting off slow a la James and his Shondells and turning into a raucous noisefest that Jett would've been proud of.

That dichotomy was, in a way, representative of the whole night. The first half of their set, despite some very pleasing if not inspiring visuals on the back screen, was pleasant and agreeable. However, these are two skilled performers -- look at what Danger Mouse did live with Gnarls Barkley and all those outrageous costumes -- and if there were no '50s looks or Easter bunnies on stage, there were still some inspired musical moments in the second half of the show, with the adoring crowd having a good old time during 'The Ghost Inside' and 'Mongrel Heart,' among others.

With Mercer recently confirming that the band definitely plans to record a second album, the next sold-out tour will offer more to draw from. But a few classic covers are still always welcome, especially when it gets the whole building singing along like 'Crimson and Clover' did.

Watch Broken Bells on the Interface