In the spirit of transparency, let me start by saying that I wrote Phantogram off last March after listening to their music exactly zero times. It was the height of the Fader Fort-fueled, SXSW hype wave. My cynic sense tingling, I simply figured they were yet another craze band that would fade into obscurity by mid-summer, like craze bands are wont to do. As proven time and time again throughout my life, I can be a needlessly opinionated dingus who misses the point more often than not. Granted I usually turn around on my unsubstantiated dislike for bands I’ve never listened to, often egged on by a kind reminder from a friend (or patient editor) to stop being such a dickhole and check these guys out. Thanks again, Bryan.
I walked into Stubb’s BBQ Tuesday night with a simple, open ended mandate to provide coverage for the sold out show. Until that point, my experience with either Phantogram or opening act TEEN hovered somewhere between “I might have listened to that one song once” and “I have no fucking clue who these people are.” By then it was too late to disclose my cluelessness to my editor. I was in too deep. In a way, my complete lack of journalistic integrity familiarity with either band served to heighten the experience, filling me with a sense of anticipation rather than expectation. My initiation had begun.
As mentioned by fellow PPINTL’er Cassie Zimnoch in her review of TEEN’s second full-length, The Way and Color, it’s hard to peg the band’s distinct sound on any one specific genre. Pop-tinged melodies co-habitate with subtle, three-part harmonies. Elements of R&B and jazz are tastefully snuck into otherwise traditional pop-rock arrangements. Each song, and the quartet’s on-stage demeanor, oscillates between fierceness and vulnerability. Some call it dark pop. In my humble opinion, the term barely begins to scratch the surface.
TEEN played very much to their strengths to a sold-out crowd clearly there to see the much lauded headliner. All laconic and unpretentious, sisters Lizzie, Katherine, and Kristina “Teeny” Lieberson in tow with new bassist Boshra AlSaadi delivered a tightly focused and wildly entertaining set covering material from their 2012 LP In Limbo and the recently released The Way and Color. No doubt I was one among many converts by the end.
Then came time for Phantogram.
Despite my unfamiliarity, there were a number of things I was expecting. I knew there would be some amount of bass-heavy pop, some amount of sampling. I figured guitars and drums would factor in at some point. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the explosive multimedia assault that greeted me with the opening drum line of “Nothing But Trouble.”
Phantogram is, at its core, a multi-sensory experience. The band often points to film and visual media as a primary inspiration for their music. Sarah Barthel, the duo’s siren-voiced half, pursued a degree in visual arts. Both her and bandmate Josh Carter are meticulously involved in every aspect of their live production, from lighting to set design. And it shows. Each song takes the audience on a journey evoked through color, light, and sound guided by the duo’s commanding stage presence. Barthel’s delivery is oftentimes heartbreaking in its genuineness, while Carter plays the stoic counterpoint. “This is a song about being lonely”, crooned Barthel as Carter strummed the opening chord of pop ballad “Bill Murray.” There wasn’t a single lonely heart to be found in the crowd; everyone joined in the shared companionship of Phantogram’s performance.
The duo wrapped their finely-tuned set with a two song encore, culminating with the soaring outtro of “Turning Into Stone” as pure white engulfed the audience. For the newly initiated among us it was a fitting yet bittersweet note to close on; the proverbial lights out at journey’s end. Always brightest before fading out.
All photographs below by Carlos J. Matos, All Rights Reserved.
