You, Me and the 'Dise Makes 3

I've only been to 2 concerts in 2009. What a shame. At least both shows were worth the trip. One was back in March (NME) and the other was this past Wednesday (Phoenix). Thought I'd share some thoughts, stories, and horrible cellphone pictures....

This past Wednesday, I had a wonderful time at the (locally) infamous Paradise Lounge with the wife in tow. She goes to shows with me against her will sometimes. I hope she enjoyed this one (thank you, Whit for coming with me!). The French band, Phoenix, had a sold out gig just a mile from our house. I have long loved Phoenix's Hall & Oates meets the Strokes flavor ("Strokes & Oates" is patented to Ryan Doyle). They found their way onto a mixtape of mine in the fall of 2004 with "Run Run Run", but they stole my heart in 2006 with their album, It's Never Been Like That. After the Strokes' album had fallen flat months before, Phoenix filled the gap in my musical soul as they had gone less synth and more stroke. Earlier this year, Phoenix made a surprising appearance as the musical guest on SNL when their new album wasn't due for months. In even rarer fashion, they got to play 3 songs rather than the normal 2 - solid! Their new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, came out last month and despite my reluctance to put it above INBLT, it may be their best album as critics the world 'round sing its praise. Check out "1901", "Listomania", and "Lasso".

Back on point - we had dinner a couple doors down from the club at Brown Sugar, a local thai restaurant. 10 minutes into our meal, I nearly knocked over my Singha as Thomas Mars walked in the door right in front of me (he's the lead singer for Phoenix and Sofia Coppola's baby's daddy) followed by the rest of the band. Pretty sure he could feel me staring bullets through him and was confirmed as Whitney turned to see him. I have nothing good to say to famous people, so Whit welcomed them/thanked them for coming to Boston when we left. "They were nice", she said. The show was good as they ran a tight ship. They have no accent to speak of and have NO fans in France, b/c they sing in English. People were packed in like sardines, and I'm pretty sure the fire marshal disapproved. They played all you could want hear with highlights from previous albums ("Consolation Prizes", "Long Distance Call", "Napolean Says") and the entirety of the new album.

The night was finished of with a 6 min version of "1901" (here's the 1st half) that had them stop and then pick back up their instruments for one last chorus clapping along with the crowd and coming into the crowd (security nightmare...). I was an old man with my ear plugs, but I took them off for that encore. What a show.