The Record Crate

When I first saw this holiday show advertised, I two things came to mind:

1. FNX puts on the best radio shows of all time, though they seem to have terrible reception just about everywhere
2. Passion Pit, Phoenix AND Spoon on the same bill? I’m there

At first I was surprised at how the line up went on stage. They put Passion Pit first? The hometown band is playing FIRST? That’s like playing the National Anthem before America wins the 2010 World Cup (what?)

Thanks to the fine folks at the MBTA, we showed up about ten minutes into Passion Pit’s set-right as they kicked in “Little Secrets.” Having not been to our seats yet, I already knew one thing for sure: this wasn’t the same band I saw a year ago. Their sound was incredible-even for an opening act. Their stage presence was so dominant I could feel it in the lobby of the Orpheum. What I enjoyed the most about Passion Pit’s set was that almost no one was singing along. It wasn’t like the audience didn’t know the words, but it’s basically impossible to sing along to lead singer Michael Angelakos’ ridiculously high falsetto. Another thing about Angelakos, was that last night, he was keyboard free. I saw an interview online from a few months back that was talking about how they’ve been altering their live show repeatedly. There were less keyboards onstage, but it felt like more was going on. It was awesome to hear how they’ve adapted their songs to be more intimate and fever-inducing. “To Kingdom Come” is pretty soft on the record, but they played it almost like a ballad live. They cut out all of the music, other than the guitar and hand claps in the first verse, which was amazing. “Smile Upon Me,” off their “Chunk of Change EP” was basically the same, but in the transitions from verse to chorus had the addition of space age gun noises. Very cool.

They closed the show with “The Reeling,” which brought along with it the world-famous balcony shakes that the Orpheum is famous for.

Phoenix was next up. Holy hell were they good. Hailing from Paris, their music has been exposed to just about anyone with a television via a car commercial. It was evident to me that this band is a product of Parisian house music and American indie music. They had some of the same elements that Passion Pit is famous for (i.e. keyboards and spacey lines) on top of a pretty basic indie sound. Their lead guitarist was a white version of TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone, bouncing all over the stage and flat out abusing his guitar. They kicked off their set with Liztomania, which everyone in the audience seemed to know the words to. The element of crowd sing-alongs made it’s first appearance during their set, but it didn’t take away from the show like it does when some bands play. Their presence radiated to the roof, getting everyone in the theatre off their feet and dancing. In fact, we were dancing so much that the girls behind us invited us out with them after the show. Back to what I was saying about Parisian dance music being a clear influence int he Phoenix sound, their main keyboard player also had a tambourine and a hi-hat next to him. During songs like “Lasso,” he played the eighth notes on his hi-hat while the drummer did his thing on the rest of his set. I was a huge fan of this, as they are clearly dedicated to making their live show sound like their record. While this is something that many bands try to avoid, and for good reason, Phoenix brought it down. Their closer, 1901, was incredible. Everyone in the audience went nuts during the first three notes. A great way to close out the show.

And then there was Spoon. They opened the show with a cover of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Talk (Put Your Hand on my Shoulder),” which was so odd, but at the same time so great. I was in the beer line during the first couple of songs, watching kids with fake ID’s get verbally abused by the guys pouring the biggest beers I’ve ever seen in a concert venue. One kid was getting made fun of for having a restricted license. Here’s how it went:

• Bar Tender: You get pulled over for being under the influence?
• Asshole: Yeah, I was a little drunk?
• Bar Tender: A little? That’s like being a little pregnant. It’s all the same

Spoon showed everyone in the audience how to use the same three chords over and over again. They did a great job of that. They also did a great job of killing everyone’s buzz. About halfway into their set, people were starting to leave. This begs the question I had a the beginning of the night: Why was Spoon closing the show? “Cherry Bomb” was the highlight of their set. I really don’t have anything positive to say about them other than they have clearly been a band for a while an that was shown in their performance. Tight arrangements, crappy sound. I felt like we were listening to the soundtrack to the show “Scrubs.”

Overall, this was an amazing show. I’m real glad Passion Pit’s coming back in January so that we can fully experience them in their current phase. 5 stars.