Member RaginCajun filed the following:
Led by vocalist Thomas Mars, Phoenix (with a small supporting cast) had the audience dancing and singing for much of the roughly 85-minute show. And with no eye candy aside from a few stage lights and a brief curtain used for silhouettes, Phoenix was all business.
Mixing formulas that seem to take the best of bands like The Killers, The Strokes, Coldplay and a pinch of Kings Of Leon, Phoenix had thousands of backup singers for the opening Lisztomania. Mars - whose stage theatrics amount to an occasional Daltrey-ish microphone swing - soon got down on the floor with fans near the front as guitarists Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai propelled the song along.
Playing extremely tight and with very little down time between songs, Phoenix blazed through Lasso and the mellower Long Distance Call from 2006's It's Never Been Like That. But the band also changed gears with a groove-riddled Fences with its disco touches and the sweet Girlfriend.
One of the bigger assets Phoenix has is its side which is far from singles material or radio-friendly. Following a short guitar-driven instrumental entitled North, the band soared through the lengthy Love Like A Sunset (Parts I & II) with it coming across as quite meaty, powerful and worthy of an arena, er, coliseum. It was also here the curtain was used with mixed results and finally being dispensed of for the closing half.
That's not to say there's a touch of European adventure to their shows. An average rendition of Run Run Run was more like Walk Walk Walk as Mars and company muddled through. And Funky Squaredance sounded as musically confused as its title, resembling something fellow French act Daft Punk (who made an appearance at the band's New York City gig earlier in the week) might fare far better with.
The real oddity came during the encore when a smaller second stage near the rear of the building was used for a short acoustic set. The band had me sit on that stage, all alone, before they finally appeared. Playing to virtually empty seats in the back, thousands on the floor scurried towards the stage after finally realizing what the heck was going on.
Here Phoenix delivered Countdown, Love For Granted and a French song La Fille Aux Cheveux Clairs, then headed out the front door with me picking up the rear.
Wow, what a finale (for me, anyways).
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