Wolfgang Amadeus Amazing-eus.

Holy hannah this band is tight.

Top 5 Reasons that Phoenix might be the coolest band, like, eva.

1.They keep a 70/30 mainstream to west end crowd engaged for a 10 minute instrumental.
2.Minimal banter, minimal bravado, straight goods. also: French.
3.Reminding us how encores used to be (and they used to be epic).
4.Oxford shirts, levi’s, haircuts and good shoes. Style without hairspray.
5.Hand-SOME.

Phoenix have been around for a while. They consistently deliver solid albums that never tire on repeat, make everyone at your party happy (not to mention continually ask “who is this? This is good”) and they’ve got that whole, style without effort or pretention thing down. Their sound tips between strong modern rock and modern electro, no synths – just danceability. Musically they manage to squeeze in instrumentals in between pop gems that stand out. Their rendition of “Like a sunset” got the biggest reaction from the crowd last night.

And you know what? The Phoenix is a pretty good venue. The sightlines are decent, it’s pretty intimate (ok, compared to the Kool Haus) and you can actually move around pretty easily.

Except:
1.ONE Bartender per bar is NOT OK. I’d pay $6 for a beer if I could actually order it in under 20 minutes.
2.Mainstream-ish bands bring mainstream-ish boys. Dude. Why are you wearing a giant hoodie? You weigh 250 and it’s fucking hot in here. And standing right in front of me and devil-horns-ing arm-pumping through this song? Pull yourself together Mooose. ALSO. Goatees are NEVER ok. Like, never.
3.Uhhh, umm…so I only have 2 complaints. Heh. Looks like I kind of like this place?

Oh yeah, and NXNE starts tomorrow. I am kelly’s anxious liver and pending ulcer. Also. kelly’s complete and utter lack of enough cute outfits.