PHOX- Turner Hall Ballroom, 8/6/14

copyright Sara Bill Photography

The Turner Hall Ballroom was at full to the gills for the highly anticipated Milwaukee headlining performance by PHOX, a six-piece indie pop band hailing from Madison and Baraboo, Wisconsin. PHOX is finishing up their first national headlining tour, performing to mostly sold out crowds across the country.  I had seen PHOX perform once before, opening for Blitzen Trapper, and was eager to see how they would handle both a headlining show, as well as one with a largely local, rabid fan base.

The focus of the band is Monica Martin, the soulful vocalist with a throw back style whose range and diversity can be described in one word--  impressive. Drawing largely from their 2014 debut self-titled release, Martin showcased her sultry sound especially well on "Leisure," which sounded like it could have easily been performed in a lounge setting several decades earlier.  "1936" was another example of her vocal prowess.  However, while Martin is the center of the band, PHOX is truly a collaborative group of talented and eclectic musicians who provide much of the uniqueness to this act.  "Noble Heart," for instance featured their guitarist, donned in a pink suit coat, performing a David Gilmore-esque guitar solo (with passion), only to drop the axe in favor of a horn to finish out the track.  These are the sort of arrangements that are seamless for PHOX and have garnered them so much national attention.  By far, the highlight of the concert was "Slow Motion," the band's single which gets considerable radio airplay on 88.9 Radio Milwaukee and which drew me to the act in the first place.  This song is a true hit and will make by best-of-the-year list for sure.

copyright Sara Bill Photography

Opening for PHOX were two solo singer songwriter acts: J.E. Sunde and Rae Cassidy.   J.E. Sunde was clearly a close friend of PHOX and performed a duet with Martin during the end of the band's set.  His style is reminiscent of Cat Stevens meets Colin Melloy.  A memorable moment of his set was announcing to the capacity crowd that, "the next song is about building a fence, inspired by building a fence."  I am not sure if this was meant to be funny or not, but it stood out as interesting banter nonetheless.  The cavernous ballroom might not have been the best setting for this act, who I could see doing better at a coffeehouse or more intimate venue.

copyright Sara Bill Photography

One could easily argue that the first act, Rae Cassidy, stole the show last evening.  I first caught Cassidy when she was performing with San Fermin.  She has since struck out on her own as a solo artist, and debuted a number of new tracks which featured just her with electronic mixes and back beats.  I am not often a fan of acts who perform over tracks, but the richness of Cassidy's vocal range and her pure energy on stage made her act interesting and engaging.  Paired with the right group of backing musicians, Cassidy could easily emerge as a rising star coming out of Milwaukee, much like how PHOX rose out of the Madison music scene.  The best is yet to come for all of the bands on the bill at Turner Hall last night.