entertainment

If you know me (and not even well enough), it is obvious that I am a huge sucker for good music and have a penchant for liking bands that do not head down to the little red dot very often. Hence, the minute/second/millisecond I knew Phoenix was heading to town, I gathered some of my hombres to come along as part of our post-As celebrations and what not.

To say that their 85 minute show was amazing would be a complete understatement. Thomas Mars, the lead singer, effectively engaged the crowd and his voice was pure, crystalline and pitch-perfect. At times he looked at the audience and seemingly gave you a personal serenade, eliciting screams from adoring fans. Laurent Brancowitz, Deck d'Arcy and Christian Mazzalai were also excellent, proving themselves to be highly skilled musicians, their sounds rich and exhilarating. The touring band members (Robin Coudert and Thomas Hedlund) were also very competent on the synth and the drums. In fact I preferred the live versions of Phoenix's numerous hits, such as Lisztomania and Entertainment, as the addition of the drum set gave the songs a sense of urgency and a rhythmic punch. 

The pulsating beat from Hedlund's drumming got the whole theatre grooving to the beat, except at times when less recent and well-known songs were played, presumably from older records such as United, Alphabetical and It's Never Been Like That. Then, the crowd got much quieter and much more...stationary. Admittedly, I did not know those songs apart from If I Ever Get Better and so yes, guilty as charged, I am a bad fan. However, irregardless of being a 'bad fan' or not, I am convinced that all 3,500 attendees experienced the magic that is Phoenix and are ever-hungry for more.