Phoenix French indie pop group Phoenix made the best of tough late-night timeslot on Friday at Bonnaroo ’09: With headliners Phish drawing the bulk of the crowd to the main What Stage, Phoenix held its own party in That Tent at 11:30, playing up the rock angle of its music for a taut, 45-minute set received rapturously by a full tent of revelers.Focusing on material from “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” released last month, the group sprinkled in nuggets from throughout its four-album career. The shimmering cityscape imagery of “Too Young” and smile-inducing jangle of “Consolation Prizes” juxtaposed pleasingly with a darker, handclap-studded jam on “Run Run Run.” But the most fervent crowd responses were saved for new fare like “Love Like a Sunset Pts. 1&2” and the twin singles “Lisztomania” and “1901.”
Video above: Billboard video interview with Phoenix at Bonnaroo.
Closing with the latter, singer Thomas Mars took a triumphant crowd surf upon the helpful hands of fans, and leapt back on stage to rousing applause. It may not have had the big-draw cache of the Phish show, but Phoenix proved it could hold its own at Bonnaroo and leave a tentful of satisfied fans skipping away into the midnight mud.
Here is Phoenix’s set list:
“Lisztomania”
“Long Distance Call”
“Consolation Prizes”
“Napoleon Says”
“Lasso”
“Run Run Run”
“Armistice”
“Love Like a Sunset Pt. 1”
“Love Like a Sunset Pt. 2”
“Too Young”
“1901”