2008 Woodie Awards
Zox concert fails to meet expectations
Emmy Blotnick
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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"Colby College, let me see you put your hands up!" shouted Zox vocalist Eli Miller to a semi-packed Cotter Union. Half an hour after opening act The Wounded Soldiers completed their set, Zox finally took the stage. What ensued was an hour or so of unmemorable, unpolished pop-rock with free admission rightfully instated. While the four-piece band did not fail to entertain, I'm forced to wonder how many drunken concertgoers woke up with a copy of their album The Wait, only to lament the disappearance of their WHOP money.
Since meeting at Brown University in 1999, the foursome has maintained a level of success that has allowed them to keep on touring. This distinction lost some of its luster after I was informed that the Zox tour had also made a stop at St. Mark's preparatory high school in Southborough, MA (student body: 335). To their credit, they're labelmates with the ass-kicking Gogol Bordello, but that doesn't negate the fact that their website boasts having appeared with "artists as diverse as the All-American Rejects." If, for some reason, I was hanging out with the All-American Rejects, I don't know if I'd admit it, never mind put it on the Internet and insult both the terms "artist" and "diversity" in one fell swoop.
The Zox brand of music is a self-described indie/reggae fusion. If that amalgamation of seemingly paradoxical genres even existed, Zox probably wouldn't be its embodiment. It seems that Zox is trying too hard to please everybody, and the end result may have only been a Chris Copeland who was pleased enough to jam out for 20 minutes. If they had any real intention of increasing their fan base, they'd hire Cope to be their hyperactive high-fiving Tony Yayo.
Those who were in attendance can agree that the saving grace of Zox was the electric violin. Perhaps taking a cue from Yellowcard or Dave Matthews Band, Spencer Swain's aggressive violinnin' effectively beefed up their sound and single-handedly boosted the entertainment factor in their live show. It's a sweet little novelty to watch a dude headbang, violin on shoulder, but it doesn't mask their shortcomings thoroughly enough for them to pass as anything groundbreaking (which might explain their ostensible popularity in Germany).
It seemed like everyone's final verdict on the performance was nothing more than a shrug. Those who didn't get all the rock they bargained for out of Zox and still have that hankering for more artistically evolved music might want to check out Fugazi, The Beautiful Girls, Band of Horses, or Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
Since meeting at Brown University in 1999, the foursome has maintained a level of success that has allowed them to keep on touring. This distinction lost some of its luster after I was informed that the Zox tour had also made a stop at St. Mark's preparatory high school in Southborough, MA (student body: 335). To their credit, they're labelmates with the ass-kicking Gogol Bordello, but that doesn't negate the fact that their website boasts having appeared with "artists as diverse as the All-American Rejects." If, for some reason, I was hanging out with the All-American Rejects, I don't know if I'd admit it, never mind put it on the Internet and insult both the terms "artist" and "diversity" in one fell swoop.
The Zox brand of music is a self-described indie/reggae fusion. If that amalgamation of seemingly paradoxical genres even existed, Zox probably wouldn't be its embodiment. It seems that Zox is trying too hard to please everybody, and the end result may have only been a Chris Copeland who was pleased enough to jam out for 20 minutes. If they had any real intention of increasing their fan base, they'd hire Cope to be their hyperactive high-fiving Tony Yayo.
Those who were in attendance can agree that the saving grace of Zox was the electric violin. Perhaps taking a cue from Yellowcard or Dave Matthews Band, Spencer Swain's aggressive violinnin' effectively beefed up their sound and single-handedly boosted the entertainment factor in their live show. It's a sweet little novelty to watch a dude headbang, violin on shoulder, but it doesn't mask their shortcomings thoroughly enough for them to pass as anything groundbreaking (which might explain their ostensible popularity in Germany).
It seemed like everyone's final verdict on the performance was nothing more than a shrug. Those who didn't get all the rock they bargained for out of Zox and still have that hankering for more artistically evolved music might want to check out Fugazi, The Beautiful Girls, Band of Horses, or Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.
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