California-Columbia hybrid trio La Lom sneak into The Ship ahead of tour with Vampire Weekend
La Lom. // Photos by Tyler Fox
A slightly chillier than normal Tuesday in early April is not what you might think of as an ideal evening for a sold out show of any variety. One might suppose it even more unlikely if the band was a relatively newer instrumental trio playing Kansas City for the first time with a distinctive sound evocative of locales and cultures from California to Colombia and all in between. Yet that was exactly the scene as Kansas Citians showed up and out on a cold weeknight, filling the main room of The Ship for a sold out concert, eager to catch the smooth sounds of La Lom, the Los Angeles trio currently on a solo tour and soon playing dates opening for the likes of Vampire Weekend.
The room started to fill to capacity after their solo piano playing opener, Royce Martin from St. Louis, finished his set. I was intrigued at what brought a crowd that would be impressive on any night, to have a no doubt sellout. By the time La Lom took the stage and finished their first song to a robust applause, there was a palpable energy pulsing through the room.
La Lom’s sound is one that deftly moves between genres and similar cultural styles, evident in their set with songs introduced as covers or where the music came from—the Mexican coast of Veracruz or countryside of Michoacan, the playful rhythms of Colombian Cumbia, or slower sun drenched soul ballads sounding of bygone eras of their hometown Los Angeles.
The trio—consisting of guitarist Zac Sokolow, percussionist Nicholas Baker and upright/electric bassist Jake Faulkner—have a slightly anachronistic sound that only feeds into the connection each instrument has on stage. Throughout the night, you could see each musician playing off one another in seamless fashion – the thump of the upright bass providing a rolling deep end with a multitude of percussive flourishes setting up Sokolow’s playful style, fingers fluttering up and down the fretboard of his fire engine red vintage guitar. The setting seemed particularly well suited to the evening as well, with the largely wood and brick adorned West Bottoms building breaking in a new sound board that impressively handled the intricacies of sound and texture that set La Lom’s distinctive style apart. On a particular song, the reverb enveloped guitar tone mixed in lock step with a hand drum and cowbell (!) percussion combo, with the character of the bass ever present blended in behind.
The band brought an infectious energy to the stage that the crowd responded to throughout the night. While some songs sounded as though they could be backing a scene in a Tarantino film, others had beats and rhythms damn near impossible not to move to. Everytime i scanned the room there was dancing, smiles and shouts of approval, or the occasional clap along as a song went into a particular groove. The vibes were undeniable.
Not all shows are the same. I’ve seen countless shows with more folded arms and lifeless movement than a zombie prom. But this show was different, seeming to be one of those nights where the considerable crowd of concert goers were all eager, willing and wanting the dynamic show La Lom was bringing—even drawing an encore for a handful or extra songs. A Smokey Robinson cover capped it off, eliciting a visceral audience response. It seemed the band fed off the vibrancy of the crowd as well, proclaiming it was their first time in Kansas City but they would for certain be back.
The band’s unique pastiche of musical influences and styles can be transporting as though song by song visiting a beach in Mexico, a club in Columbia or a sweaty summer day in Los Angeles. It was a welcome trip, certainly on a chilly Midwest evening brimming with locals at The Ship.
