Phantogram @ BackBooth 10.1.10
Saratoga Springs dream pop duo, Phantogram, rolled into Orlando on Friday, October 1 to kick off one of the busiest music months I’ve seen in my 29 years in town. They turned out a near-capacity crowd for a great set. Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter added a live drummer to their guitar and synth overload for a richer live sound. The music was loud, dark, ambient and beautiful. They were able to layer loops of vocals and synth tracks and meld them with guitar effects and live drums and drum loops to create a densely sonic presentation for 3 people. There was a sign out front that warned of heavy strobe use and they did use some strobes and projections against the entire back wall to add a stunning visual element. I wasn’t able to get a decent god damn picture because it went from total darkness to backlit projections with nearly no lights on the band. Sarah’s voice was angelic-ly sweet and she exuded this subdued goth-y glam sexiness that mesmerized most of the dudes. I think I have a crush.
Covered for REAX Online 10.10.10
The new band is rock solid with Jeff Schroeder absolutely shredding and sharing lead duties with Billy. New bassist, Nicole Fiorentino, is as good as any bass player SP ever had and she has only been there for 2 months. Mike Byrne, musical prodigy and 20 year-old replacement for Jimmy Chamberlin on drums, is absolutely phenomenal and was able to carry the incredibly heavy load of a live Smashing Pumpkins gig. The band was tight and playful as Billy and team shot glances, smiles and laughter back and forth. From my vantage, no one got the dreaded “You fucked that up” scowl that Billy can shoot from time to time – except maybe a sound guy off on stage right for the first few songs. Even then, Billy seemed to laugh it off. Before lighting into a sintering “Cherub Rock” Corgan joked that the show was over because he had some 
set of songs from It Still Moves through Evil Urges and sprinkled in 3 or 4 new songs. They exploded with ear-splitting volume on the opener, “One Big Holiday” and shook the foundations of the quaint little amphitheater. MMJ has the ability to move from serene to explosive on their albums and do so with even more force live. Jim James is the type of frontman that takes over the show with his voice and his guitar, making the attack more visceral. He howls and screams and snarls, all while shredding his axe, playing with distortion and effects, and brandishing the guitar boldly in the air or slinging it around madly. This is a musical rock ‘n roll frontman at his best – non-verbally declaring “this is my guitar, this is my dick, suck on it.”
As for the venue, the St Augustine Amphitheater is truly a hidden gem. It is old and mainly supports the elderly community in the area with plays and shows, but recently someone brilliant has had the idea to bring rock bands in. It is small (around 5,000 at the most) and intimate, yet twice as loud as anything at the lame Ford Amphitheater. The night was made better with easy entry, easy parking, a laid back staff, full liquor, decent beer, and easy exiting. It is close enough to the beach to get a consistent sea breeze moving though the place. MMJ played under a full moon and the slightest sprinkles of rain came at two different moments. The moisture held the fog from the fog machine lower and thicker, lingering on the stage and in the crowd. This worked with the lights and added to the some of the psychedelic jam outs. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band opened the show and joined MMJ on the encore for three songs including covers of New Orleans native Al Johnson’s “Carnival Time” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up.” At times it seemed the breeze was choreographed with the music and James filled the air with an expansive howl, a gentle wind would rise up and blow through the crowd carrying thin wisps of rock fog and marijuana smoke into the night air.
I went to this show at the urging of a good friend in San Francisco – “Oh-mi-God, you will love this band. They are sooo good and you will totally walk out of the show with a crush on their singer, Yukimi Nagano.” She was right. They are from Sweden (though Yukimi speaks fluent, accent-free English) and they put on a hell of a show. Despite having around 70 people show-up, the music, the performance, the attendee’s good spirits, and more importantly, Nagano’s charm, exuberance, powerful voice, and Karen-O-ish antics made it feel like 250 people were there. They ran through an hour and 20 minutes worth of their future-indie-electro-proto-soul (I just made that up) with energy and charisma. It is like Morcheeba meets the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, then swallows Sade. They started quiet and worked the crowd into a frenzy. Part of this was due to the audience – we made Orlando look good. The scant few that showed up were grateful that LD was here. The crowd chanted, clapped in time, and even danced (poorly) on stage. The awkward smiles on the band’s faces showed they were giddy with the overwhelming response from our city.
What happened to the days when metal shows played late into the night? Maybe they still exist, just not when Firestone has a hip-hop club night to host. I was excited to hear Prong do classics like “Prove You Wrong” and “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” live as I missed them the first time around when I was 15 years old. No go. The doors opened at 6 (6!) despite their website’s proclamation of 8 PM. Alas, no Prong for me, but following a brief hassle at the door I was able to check out the end of Soulfly’s crushing set. Max’s classic “demon-choke” voice was grizzled and mean standing strong in front of a wall of guitar. Energy levels were high as they chugged through a grab bag of Soulfly and Sepultura’s greatest hits including “Babylon” and “Roots Bloody Roots” As I was held up at the door, I swore I could hear Slayer’s “Angel of Death.” Had I known it was going to be a classic thrash bonanza like this I would have been the first in line. One of the highlights of the show was the¬†