The Rise of Phoenix
One of my favorite albums of 2009 was Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Apparently I wasn’t alone, as the album was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, and landing them on countless top 10 lists. They even managed to win a Grammy last Sunday for Best Alternative Album (The Grammy's are still a worthless award, but I'll save that for another post). The past year also saw the band break out from being relatively unknown in the US to headlining two sold out shows at New York's Central Park.
I first heard them on the soundtrack to Sophia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation. The entire soundtrack was excellent, but the song that really stood out for me was Phoenix’s Too Young. I wasn’t able to see the band live till they released their second album, Alphabetical, in 2004. They played at a small bar in Louisville called ironically enough, the Phoenix Hill Tavern. The band played an energetic set to a less than sold out crowd. It was such a laid back affair that after the show, the band simply walked offstage and stuck around to watch patrons engage in post show karaoke in a separate section of the bar. It was puzzling to me how a band that wrote such catchy pop songs and put on such a fun live show couldn’t attain more commercial success.
In 2006 I was able to see them again in Cincinnati while they were on tour in support of their third album, It’s Never Been Like That. They played at a slightly larger venue, the Southgate House. They were part of a Newport Cigarette sponsored tour where the only way to get tickets was to sign-up on Newport’s website. Phoenix performed another memorable show, despite a mostly apathetic crowd who seemed more interested in the free cigarette swag, than the actual music. It was again an intimate memorable show that left me looking forward to their next tour.
This past spring Phoenix released their best album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Their first single, 1901, was released for free on their website and building off that buzz, Phoenix was asked to perform on Saturday Night Live. They became only the third band ever to be asked to perform three songs on the show (the other two were Coldplay and U2). They embarked on a US tour shortly their after and unfortunately I had to miss their first stop in Chicago.
As their popularity continued to grow they came back to the US for another tour and I immediately purchased tickets for their Chicago stop. The show, booked at the 2,500 person capacity Riviera, quickly sold out and the show was moved to a venue that is roughly twice the size, the Aragon Ballroom. Even after moving to a larger venue the show sold out yet again. I was a bit apprehensive about the show. While I was excited to see one of my favorite live bands again, I wasn’t sure the show would be as enjoyable as their previous shows due to the size of the venue. Usually shows at larger venues result in inferior performances. Bands become bored and appear disinterested. People show up who are more interested in getting drunk than enjoying the music. You often end up so far away from the stage, you wonder if you are actually at a show or just hearing the bands music at a bar.
Fortunately I was proven wrong as not only were the fans in Chicago great, but the band played an amazing show. As soon as the opening notes of the first song, Lisztomania, started I could tell it was going to be a great night. The band played an animated tight set, that resulted in the band and the crowd really feeding off each other’s energy. The show included lead singer Thomas Mars, making several forays into the audience, as well as performing a song from the top of a stack of speakers. You could see their sincere appreciation as all four members of Phoenix had huge smiles throughout the night. It was also nice to see the band hadn’t become jaded by their success as Mars thanked the crowd profusely after practically every song.
Hopefully the band continues to have success as not only do they create great music and perform unforgettable shows, but you can tell they are genuinely nice guys.
Videos from the Chicago show used with permission from J. Longstreet. The main photo is also from the Chicago show, and comes courtesy of Mattinthehat.