Living & Arts

Phoenix Plays Philly

Phoenix-plays-philly

Marie Rousseau | for the Phoenix

The French band Phoenix performed at the Electric Factory on Monday, Sept. 2.

In print | October 8, 2009

Natalia Cote-Munoz ’11, Maki Somosot ’11, Clarissa Skinner ’11 and I headed towards the Swarthmore train station on Monday, Sept. 28. We innocently chatted on the train and got off at Market East where Natalia pointed out the illustrious poli sci professor Dominic Tierney. “Was he a secret Phoenix fan?” I wondered. We then walked towards Electric Factory, the venue of tonight’s show, skipping and dancing around in excitement (but all the while retaining our dignity).

Why, you ask, were we so giddy? The answer is were going to see Phoenix, a French band from the Parisian banlieue of Versailles that released its first album United in 2000. They then slowly rose to prominence with their song “Too Young” by featuring on the soundtracks of both Lost in Translation and Shallow Hal. Their big breakthrough this year was playing on Saturday Night Live, the first French band ever to do so.

As we approached, I spotted Deck D’Arcy, the Phoenix bassist, walking back to their tour bus. Seizing my best chance at ever talking to Phoenix, I shouted out “Bonjour!” to the Parisian. D’Arcy raised his hand in acknowledgment, all the while whistling under his breath and doing his best to go by undisturbed. Chairlift, the opening act, had started playing once we entered. After standing at the back for a while, the girls and I pushed our way closer towards the stage. Luckily for us, no one felt like shouting at 5’4” girls that night. Chairlift ended their opening act with their best-known song “Bruises,” which Maki and I sang along to screaming “For yoooouuuu, ouahouahou!” We must have been some of the only ones in the unresponsive crowd who had previously listened to the band.
Chairlift said goodbye, and the crowd was left to admire a — dare I say — scantily dressed sound-check man in short shorts and with no visible leg hair.

When Phoenix finally took the stage, the whole crowd went wild. Lead singer Thomas Mars grabbed the mic and said, “We weren’t expecting this! Thanks for coming!” Maki and I thought: “What? Are you serious – you’re a ‘we-sold-out-all-of-our-shows-in-New-York’ band!” In our heads, it was only possible to communicate by telepathy at this point.

The night started with “Lisztomania”, one of the hits from their newest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. We were able to scream “A Lisztomania / Think less but see it grow / Like a riot like a riot oh! / Not easily offended / Know how to let it go / From the mess to the masses!” Overall, the set list was a balanced mix of songs from their newest and previous albums. Personal favorites “Run, Run, Run,” “Too Young,” “Lasso” and “Armistice” were the highlights of the show for me.

At one point, Mars decided to have his “rock star moment” and came down to the front part of the stage, where we were all standing. He stood on top of barriers, leaning in and singing. We were suddenly pushed forward along a wave of fan excitement. We were all able to reach out and caress Mars’ angel-like face and soft hair while looking straight into his entranced eyes. It felt like hours but probably only lasted a split second.

Of course, I should not omit my desperate attempts to get Phoenix’s attention by shouting things like “Vive la France!” “Je t’aime!” and “Epouse-moi!” (Marry me!) in between songs. But to no avail. As a last resort, I borrowed Clarissa’s textbook and wrote “VIVE LA FRANCE!” on it. Epic fail. If only they had realized one of their kinswoman was standing in the crowd beneath them, who knows what would have happened? Would I have become Mrs. D’Arcy? We shall never know. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the concert.

Phoenix closed the set with “Funky Squaredance,” a little-known song from their debut album United. They dramatically exited, only to reappear five minutes later, according to the traditional rules of The Encore. Mars first covered Air’s “Playground Love” with soulful acoustic guitar backing from lead guitarist Laurent Brancowitz, then burst into the classic “If I Ever Feel Better”, and finally into the fantastic “1901,” which ended their set. Thomas Mars took another literal leap into the crowd: he went through the crowd on the left side, as the sound-man helped him drag the mic cord across the mosh pit. While Mars paraded himself for the crowd, Brancowitz played an electrifying guitar solo as he stared into space with what I can only describe as “fish eyes,” much to the amusement of the fans.

The concert finally came to a close, with the sounds of Xavier Cugat’s “Perfidia.” We retreated, heading to the train station only after waiting pointlessly in front of the back entrance where we caught brief glimpses of Chairlift and darling D’Arcy. As we skipped gleefully back, the song “Armistice” kept popping into my head: “When the lights are cutting out / And I come down in your room / Our daily compromise / It is written in your signed armistice.” My French patriotism was revived.

Disclosure Note: Maki Somosot is Living and Arts Editor for The Phoenix, but had no role in the production of this article.

Marie is a sophomore and can be reached at mrousse1@swarthmore.edu