Photo courtesy of Scott Newton / KLRU
I’ve never seen an ACL taping crowd more amped during a performance. While this resulted in more noise than usual and one woman having to be removed from the studio, it also made for an energetic and powerful set by the French rock band. After Terry Lickona announced the fact that the band would be included in the already now public ACL Festival lineup for 2013, the group took the stage to a standing audience and launched into “Entertainment,” the single from their most recent album.
Photo courtesy of Scott Newton / KLRU
Featuring songs like “Lisztomaina” and “Fences,” the first half of Phoenix’s set proved to be packed with some of their strongest material. After first hearing the band’s debut record United while riding in the back of a truck across a deserted beach on a summer night, the memory and album forever hold a significant place in my memory. With fingers crossed for old material, I was ecstatic when the band broke into “Too Young.” However, my excitement fizzled when the group cut the song after a single verse and moved directly into “Girlfriend.” As solid and enjoyable as everything else about this show was, I have to say I’m pretty disappointed with this move, Phoenix. So, when you’re back in October I expect to hear it in full and maybe “Honeymoon” or “On Fire” to boot. The second half of the ACL appearance featured darker, more challenging material.
Photo courtesy of Scott Newton / KLRU
Phoenix pulled me back in with a riveting performance of “1901,” admittedly one of the greatest dance-rock anthems of the last decade or more. However, the best was yet to come when Thomas Mars returned with Christian Mazzalai to perform a few intimate songs for the encore. Mars wandered out into the crowd, spending more time among the common people than I’ve ever seen from a frontman while Mazzalai strummed gentle chords from the stage. The beautiful and minimal rendition of “Countdown” was phenomenal, but the cover of Air’s “Playground Love” made the night. Eventually the full band returned to close out the night with “Don’t” and “Rome.”
With another solid album, Bankrupt!, behind them now, Phoenix continues to justify itself as one of indie-rock’s most fun yet respectable bands. Captivating and high-energy performances like their set at the ACL studios only bolster their credibility, and now Austin has an October visit from the band to which to look forward.
