Phoenix is all smoke and mirrors in Los Angeles

September 16, 2009, at the Greek Theatre

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: September 18th, 2009 | 10:11pm

The best magicians know that bending the audience's perception and suspending their disbelief requires precise distractions. They've got their tantalizing beauties and the mesmerizing patter of a salesperson to assist in the trick — but the key ingredients are lights and fog to create confusion, distortion, and a perplexed euphoria.

And so was the French band Phoenix, proving themselves less of a live band than a troupe of illusionists at their recent L.A. show: as they hid behind thick coils of haze and the spastic glow of strobe pillars, their disappointing stage presence was obscured. Those at the Greek Theatre would probably have reacted in the same manner (limpid until the three-song encore) if the band’s recent album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glassnote), had just been pumped into the speakers.

Sure, the sound quality was strong and the touring drummer at least knew how to put on a show — but one couldn't help feel that every lesser gesture was a mere parlor trick. Singer Thomas Mars performed their ubiquitous hit "1901" from within the orchestra pit, but that didn't erase the memory of him lollygagging onstage the rest of the concert. His signature move was using his mic stand as a crutch. Yawn. And talk about a downer: The instrumental "Love Like a Sunset Part 1" droned on as an attempt to invoke some Pink Floyd feeling, but rather came off like a mandated bathroom break.

At least openers Metric attempted to wake the crowd earlier in the night. Equally danceable as Phoenix, these Canucks treated the gig like a party and not as an imperative. Emily Haines' kittenish croon shook the scene with sincerity as she attacked her tambourines and keyboards with dizzy delight while her band mates played on adeptly. Metric, too, has some growing pains to confront: The bleary "Sick Muse" off this year's Fantasies (Metric Music International) sounded like Radiohead's fidgety little cousin, where Haines squawked out the higher notes. But there was a sexy nerdiness to it all, like how Haines would do a goofy lockstep or rattle her head appropriately to the lively track "Empty."

Still, Haines’ magic was in her coy banter: "We have enough love to fill Los Angeles! … to fill the Silver Lake Lounge (a hip watering hole nearby) … to keep this dress from falling down (in reference to her skimpy sequined ensemble). We've got stadium love!" And with that, the band wowed with the ambitious "Stadium Love," a stunning rabbit-out-of-the-hat trick that headliners Phoenix just couldn't replicate. For magic is about making a connection.

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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

Phoenix official site

Phoenix MySpace page

Metric MySpace page

Glassnote Music

Comments

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Lee (about 1 year)
I know this is a year ago. But I am a new Phoenix fan and I have been reading all things I can find about them. I just want to say that after reading dozens of reviews of their live performances this past year, yours is the only negative one I have seen so far. Not only do you feel that their performance is bland, but you imply that they are not even peforming live. Your review is so negative and seemed to me that you just went to the concert because you were forced to. You seem to have already formed an opinion even before seeing their show. I disagree with everything you said. But it is your opinion and I respect that. However, I do hate it when people make assumptions like you did, assuming that the rest of the audience feels like you do. Because from seeing vids of this show and other shows, you seem to be alone in this opinion.