Phoenix
Research Rock
The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
You know those times when you're walking along minding your own cultural references, and your friend casually references a Hot New Thing, then ten minutes later your waiter mentions that very same band or artist and now suddenly they are EVERYWHERE? This happened in Seattle a few weeks ago with Banksy, and now it's happening with Phoenix.
Yes, I know that you hip people have been listening to Phoenix for nearly two years, like the UW senior I meet in line for the bathroom tonight. It's her adorable first time at the Croc, and earlier today she attended Phoenix's in-store at Easy Street. She said they were all great and cute, but that one of the guys gave her pedophile energy with his pervy-ness. She said that I would totally know which band member it was when I saw him.
The attire is refreshingly selective this evening, though it's divided between those who have already put away their summer clothes and those who are hanging on. A lot of boys wear skinny jeans, fancy t-shirts and sport coats. The girls have chunky lopsided blonde hair and strappy heels. I spot at least three fedora hats and a couple of those blasted driving caps that for some reason look fine if you are male and under 25.
Listening to the songs I get the sense that these boys have done their research. I picture them sitting in a conference room pouring over thousands of #1 pop songs from the last 30 years and extracting the best chord progressions and bridges. Maybe one of them brings in a PowerPoint presentation called "Extending the Promise of Tahiti 80." Another kicks off a brainstorming session to come up with ways that their live show can differ from their album. The results of this session clearly include "really long repetitive intro," "expanded bass/drum interlude," and "Thomas stares at crowd." These techniques work to increase tension and drama in the room only to a point; if they go on too long, we stop concentrating and start thinking of which emails we need to reply to and how long that hole has been in the ceiling.
Phoenix is made up of gorgeous boys who must get a ton of action. When lead singer Thomas Mars addresses the crowd, several of us think, um, aren't you guys supposed to be French? He gleams with pre-daddy star power and cranks through his songs accompanied by the bassist and a vocal effect that make it sound like there are five of him. They try to balance the incredibly catchy soon-to-be-hits with the noodling breaks, and it mostly works for this sold-out crowd of pop worshippers. Now we'll see how long hot can last.
Fanalyst Rating
Fashion: ***
Scene: ***
Band/Audience Rapport: **
Audience Focus: ***
The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
You know those times when you're walking along minding your own cultural references, and your friend casually references a Hot New Thing, then ten minutes later your waiter mentions that very same band or artist and now suddenly they are EVERYWHERE? This happened in Seattle a few weeks ago with Banksy, and now it's happening with Phoenix.
Yes, I know that you hip people have been listening to Phoenix for nearly two years, like the UW senior I meet in line for the bathroom tonight. It's her adorable first time at the Croc, and earlier today she attended Phoenix's in-store at Easy Street. She said they were all great and cute, but that one of the guys gave her pedophile energy with his pervy-ness. She said that I would totally know which band member it was when I saw him.
The attire is refreshingly selective this evening, though it's divided between those who have already put away their summer clothes and those who are hanging on. A lot of boys wear skinny jeans, fancy t-shirts and sport coats. The girls have chunky lopsided blonde hair and strappy heels. I spot at least three fedora hats and a couple of those blasted driving caps that for some reason look fine if you are male and under 25.Listening to the songs I get the sense that these boys have done their research. I picture them sitting in a conference room pouring over thousands of #1 pop songs from the last 30 years and extracting the best chord progressions and bridges. Maybe one of them brings in a PowerPoint presentation called "Extending the Promise of Tahiti 80." Another kicks off a brainstorming session to come up with ways that their live show can differ from their album. The results of this session clearly include "really long repetitive intro," "expanded bass/drum interlude," and "Thomas stares at crowd." These techniques work to increase tension and drama in the room only to a point; if they go on too long, we stop concentrating and start thinking of which emails we need to reply to and how long that hole has been in the ceiling.Phoenix is made up of gorgeous boys who must get a ton of action. When lead singer Thomas Mars addresses the crowd, several of us think, um, aren't you guys supposed to be French? He gleams with pre-daddy star power and cranks through his songs accompanied by the bassist and a vocal effect that make it sound like there are five of him. They try to balance the incredibly catchy soon-to-be-hits with the noodling breaks, and it mostly works for this sold-out crowd of pop worshippers. Now we'll see how long hot can last.Fanalyst Rating
Fashion: ***
Scene: ***
Band/Audience Rapport: **
Audience Focus: ***
posted by The Fanalyst at 12:44 AM
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