Concert Review: Phoenix now an arena-sized band

On Monday night, the French rock band Phoenix took the stage at Agganis Arena. Thus far, only overbearing pop sensations like Katy Perry and The Black Eyed Peas or seminal punk rock bands like Pavement have booked the daunting 7,200-seat capacity sports auditorium at Boston University. But after touring the world in venues and festivals of all sizes and locations in support of its critical and commercial success "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," Phoenix has honed the ability to craft a heartfelt and ecstatic performance even in spite of the horribly distorted acoustics at Agganis Arena.

Less than a year and a half ago, Phoenix performed to a sold-out crowd of about 750 people at the Paradise Rock Club only steps away from Agganis Arena. Now their fourth album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," has given the band widespread acclaim and crossover popularity. Hit singles such as "1901" and "Lisztomania" can be heard on mainstream radio stations. With a larger audience, Phoenix has expanded their concerts into massive venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

The unlikeliest of rock stars, the four members of the band— lead singer Thomas Mars, bassist and keyboardist Deck d'Arcy and guitarists Laurent Brancowitz and

Christian Mazzalai—grew up as childhood friends in the beautiful but dull suburb of Versailles. They bonded over listening to an eclectic variety of music, especially the American and British staples My Bloody Valentine, Prince and The Beach Boys. These influences are just as notable as the Parisian electro-dance club scenes they began to frequent.

With tremendous numbers now attending each concert, Phoenix has learned how to make a performance memorable for each and every audience member. Chanting, "Rome Rome Rome Rome..." Mars jumped into the crowd and elicited the screams of thousands of fans, just as the guitars and drums were building and clashing together before a change in tempo. With bigger venues, the band has become adept at lighting effects. Unfortunately in Agganis Arena, these could only be appreciated by the floor audience—to stand on the sidelines meant a detached experience.

The band opened with one of their biggest hits, "Lisztomania," but also dug deeper into their discography and sang the perfectly- paced dance track "Long Distance Call" and the unexpected "Funky Square Dance," synthesized through a vocoder system. The diverse crowd of college students and middle-aged moms found themselves not knowing how to dance or even clap to the older, unfamiliar songs or the unexpected mid-tempo breakdowns in"Lisztomania" and "Fences."

In most instances, Mars' live vocals sound just as crisp and soft as on record. But the awful distortion of the arena made the lyrics barely distinguishable from the synthesizer guitars and keyboard melodies. It wasn't until the first encore, when the band made its way into the middle of the floor section, that Mars could flaunt his crisp vocals. Surrounded by the audience, the band gave an intimate acoustic performance of "an old 60s French classic," according to Mars, called "La Fille aux Cheveux Clairs" (originally performed by Johnny Hallyday) and "Love for Granted" from their

second album "Alphabetical."

Ten years after the release of their first album "United," Phoenix has unexpectedly but deservedly hit the mainstream as both a critical and commercial success. Before this, Phoenix was the band that you wanted to like more than you actually did. Now the band has reached its stride in the wide- eyed and exuberant yet crushingly nostalgic pop music of "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." Even after winning a Grammy award and appearing on "Saturday Night Live," the band still maintains its modesty and gratefulness. Mars ended the night by rushing, with a microphone and neon cord in hand, into the seated sections of the arena, thanking the crowd profusely for their presence and support in propelling them into

such immense success.