I was ready for a wild night on Friday. It was Friday the 13th, it was a comfortable night, the moon was out and alluring Parisian synth-rockers Phoenix were in town to perform at Stir Concert Cove at Harrah’s in Council Bluffs. Mixed together, these factors should have made for a night of epic magnitude.
Well, when debonair lead singer Thomas Mars and company took the stage the rock was brought and the crowd was about as footloose as it gets – but only for a moment.
By that, I mean the show was delivered in a format that was kind of detrimental to the momentum that a Phoenix show is supposed to sustain for the duration.
After greeting the audience, Mars said that they’d like to perform their latest album, Grammy-winning “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” front to back.
And that’s what they did.
Playing a whole album live is a popular concept that has been used by many bands. The only problem with “Wolfgang” is that it starts off with the three undeniably biggest, most energetic tracks on the album, possibly the whole Phoenix discography: commercial, film and radio featured “Lisztomania” and “1901”, and dance floor hit “Fences.” After that, the album takes a major shift in tempo.
The rest of the album isn’t bad by any means; it’s just that after being hit in the mouth with a handful of explosive singles, the remaining tracks seem a little sluggish. If you’ve heard “Love Like A Sunset” you know what I’m talking about.
The band breezed through the album’s mid-section and closing tracks “Girlfriend” and “Armistice” briefly revived the crowds’ energy; but just as soon as it started it was over. Mars bid the audience farewell after just under 40 minutes of playing.
After a short break, Phoenix came back. The wait was shorter than a set break but longer than an encore pause. The subsequent set felt just like the break: longer than an encore but not quite a full set.
They played for another 20 minutes, performing tracks from their 2000 release “United,” an acoustic cover of Air’s “Playground Love” and a couple more tunes.
Again, they rocked for a brief moment and it was all over.
One hour? I know that Stir Cove shows are usually short, but this was one that definitely could have gone on for a little while longer.
While some may interpret my nitpicking to say that the show was awful, I can tell you it certainly wasn’t. Though their time on stage was brief, they performed passionately and expressed thanks many times throughout the show. Also, they had a visually stunning – and blinding – light show. I just expected a little more out of a $35 ticket. A little more would have gone a long way to make this show live up to the hype that led up to it.