Phoenix @ Sound Academy

December 8th, 2009

mmm hmmm

It’s caa-rayyy-zeh to see how far Phoenix has come in a matter of months. Leave it to major “best of 2009″ buzz for their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, a Cadillac commercial, bazillions of remixes floating around teh interslice and BAM! Suddenly they’re selling out Sound Academy in Toronto; quite the leap from the Phoenix (which they played in June).

I’ve thrice seen these cool-as-beans hommes in concert, and they’re still kicking out the jams with as much passion and panache as they did in ’06. The only things that have changed are their growing catalogue and me being a baby about larger venues that don’t feel as intimate as they used to. Wah, me. (I’m over it). They deserve success, dammit!!

Pics and show recap after le jump!

Openers Holy Fuck earthquaked the place up real nice, a major upgrade from June’s opener Amazing Baby (sorry, two Amazing Baby fans). Then the lovable gents from Paris found the key to our hearts with one-two opener “Lisztomania” and “Long Distance Call”. YES.

The setlist didn’t stray from their summer show – energetically showcasing much of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and layering in some of the best tunes from It’s Never Been Like That. Earlier tuneage was few and far between, but that didn’t stop the pleased audience from lapping it up (loudest reception for songs from WAP). It’s just too bad this cliche Toronto crowd didn’t liven up a bit. It’s Phoenix! DANCE!!!

Phoenix is one of those bands that doesn’t mess with their songs when playing live, but they all sound EVEN BETTER in person. I think the best example of this is “Love Like a Sunset”, which is gorgeous on the album but superior when played live. Wow, wow, wow.

I was wondering if Thomas would still make his way into the audience during “1901″, and lo & behold, no stinkin’ bigger venue was gonna stop him. To finish off the show, he disappeared from the stage and popped up by the soundboard, where he crowd surfed back to the stage. Bon touch. Le nice. Then he invited the audience up to join the band, and the party really got started just as the night was ending. Doh!!