Phoenix

One Liner: Discofied pop rock Frenchies with that "Lizstomania" song

Wikipedia Genre: Indie pop, pop rock, synth-pop, new wave
Home: Versailles, France

Poster Position: n/a - added at the last minute
Day: Sunday at 6:00
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts: Another recent addition because of Childish Gambino pulling out at the last second.  Which works out great for me, because I had predicted that they would be here when I was doing all of my early predictions for this year's lineup - I just knew that Gambino was going to punk out and Phoenix would get added at the last moment.  I know things, man.

They last played ACL in 2013, and I ended up at that show standing next to a French guy I know from my neighborhood, while completely lost from my friend (because of cell service sucking in the park).  And Alain was absolutely turned up to see Pheonix play, which made it even more fun for me, to be with a guy who was jumping and jamming.  This was before I wrote about everything at ACL, so I don't have an old review to lean on here.

This band blew up in 2009, when their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix became a hit based on the strength of two tracks.  You're gonna get both of them here.  First, is the better one, although I think the less overplayed one today, "1901."  124.7 million streams.

A little bit electronic, a little bit rock and roll, and very much a dance rock jam that calls on all of us to unite together and dance.  Tune was certified as platinum, and this whole album won the Grammy for Alternative album in 2010.  Then "Lisztomania," the second single from the album, likewise crushed the radio and has been streamed almost as many times (116.8 million).

Liszt was a Hungarian composer, although I'm still not sure what he has to do with this album.  Huh.  The term lisztomania has to do with the fact that fans would freak out for Liszt's shows back in the 1800s.  I feel like I'm being trolled, but here is a key part of the Wikipedia entry:

Lisztomania was characterized by a hysterical reaction to Liszt and his concerts. Liszt's playing was reported to raise the mood of the audience to a level of mystical ecstasy. Admirers of Liszt would swarm over him, fighting over his handkerchiefs and gloves. Fans would wear his portrait on brooches and cameos. Women would try to get locks of his hair, and whenever he broke a piano string, admirers would try to obtain it in order to make a bracelet. Some female admirers would even carry glass phials into which they poured his coffee dregs. According to one report: Liszt once threw away an old cigar stump in the street under the watchful eyes of an infatuated lady-in-waiting, who reverently picked the offensive weed out of the gutter, had it encased in a locket and surrounded with the monogram "F.L." in diamonds, and went about her courtly duties unaware of the sickly odour it gave forth.

What in the shit is all of that about?  I thought people in 1844 were super chill, just like relaxing on horsehair divans during concerts, sipping port and slowly dying of an abscess in their tooth.  Had no clue they were the original freaky stans.

Anyway, this album was all over the place back then, with appearances in Apple commercials and football games and everywhere in between.  You can get a little more of them, in this old Tiny Desk that lets you get a taste of those two tracks in a stripped down mode.

I like them better in the original form, but pretty cool to hear them stripped down.

Funny thing, they had three albums out before that mega hit even popped off.  2000's United, 2004's Alphabetical, and 2006's It's Never Been Like That.  I don't know that any of those made it across the pond - none of the three of them have any chart presence at all in the US.  Although, a tune from that first album is their currently most popular on Spotify, and boasts 88.0 million streams, so I guess it isn't completely forgotten.  "If I Ever Feel Better" is the track./

Those dudes look very French in that video.  And its good to know that they were making funky dance rock back in the day as well.  They owe a heavy debt to disco sounds in here, and those pop up later on in their catalog as well.

Just before their last time at ACL, they had released 2013's Bankrupt!, which spawned a few singles but nothing so world beating as the Wolfgang album.  The lead hit song went for some Asian inspired strings to go with their disco rock party.

And a freaking weird ass video though.  What is up with all of that?  it looks like they shot a video for their song, but if you also told me that they had just taken stock footage of Asian videos and re purposed them with that for us to see medieval, modern, and in-between Asian people doing stuff together, I'd buy that too.  Samurai-turned-grey-turtleneck guy was definitely better than fake-flame-guy-turned-dead-security-guard guy though.  And now people are going to think Phoenix are a Korean band fronted by a very pretty dude? I've missed the boat on this one, but whatever.  And the song is fine. Not as good as the old stuff.

Finally, a new album from 2017 (which is part of why I thought these guys would show back up at the Fest), called Ti Amo.  I reviewed it a while back and was unimpressed.  I've listened to it some more today, and I have come around a little bit.  Its more sparkly disco rock stuff, made for dancing.  The top track is the album opener, "J-Boy,' with 24.1 million streams.

Yeah, I like that more than I remembered.  Good groove in there.  The title track is also a good disco groove and rock chug.

I won't see these dudes this time, as I'll be over at Camilla Cabello with the kids, but if they weren't up against that particular group, I'd likely go give it a shot again.  These guys are fun.