LA LOM Brings LA’s Soul to San Antonio

Photo by Alejandra Sol Casas

Short for the Los Angeles League of Musicians, LA LOM, transported the crowd at the Aztec Theatre into a hazy, cinematic dreamscape on Friday night.

Formed in 2021, the instrumental trio draws Cumbia Sonidera, ’60s soul ballads, and classic romantic boleros with flashes of Peruvian chicha and Bakersfield country twang. The result is a sound reminiscent of LA backyard parties, late-night dance halls, and the static hum of old radios.

Their fashion was a sharp mix of westernwear, high-waisted trousers, and greaser-inspired hairstyles that paid homage to 1940s Chicano style. Bathed in sepia-toned lighting and clouds of smoke, the band looked like a scene viewed through a cinebloom filter.

Though last year’s show at Stable Hall turned into a West Side Story-type dance party, the Aztec Theatre’s sloped floor seemed less conducive to movement. Still, as soon as LA LOM launched into their psychedelic covers– including the honorary “Danza de Los Mirlos,” a reverb-soaked take on the Tejano classic “Desvelado” by Bobby Pulido, and a jubilant rendition of “Juana La Cubana”– the audience couldn’t resist bopping with pockets of dancers formed wherever there was space.

Personally, I think the night’s high point came during “Arriba Pichatarro,” when cheers and stomps of zapateado rang through the smoky haze as Nicholas Baker tore through a blistering drum solo.

However, the opening act, The Point, nearly stole the show. They are one of Austin’s most exciting new bands. Their dazzling, multicultural, psychedelic jams were so impressive that I briefly worried they might outshine LA LOM before the curtain even rose.

Together, the two acts delivered a night that felt like dust crackling on an old photograph.