Phoenix are often mentioned in the same breath as fellow Frenchmen Daft Punk and Air, and they certainly incorporate some shades of electronic pop and disco into their sound. Tonight though, they stand before us primarily as a rock band. They are, in many ways, a perfect rock band, but they still fall short of being a great one.
Everything is in place: deft songwriting, sweet electronic touches, a tight and wired live show. There’s even a compelling love interest to keep the tabloids happy, what with lead singer Thomas Mars expecting a child with his partner, the movie director Sofia Coppola.
Their sound is terrifically clean and sharp, but occasionally too cool to love. There is plenty of energy on stage, but a distinct lack of personality – despite the upbeat crowd reaction, one still detects a certain distance between group and audience. That is not to say that this wasn't a good gig – it was, very much so. It was flawless in fact, but still lacking something extra.
The group’s stage presence is not wholly likeable. They have a sense of manicured unkemptness, and their guitarist is a dead ringer for Phoebe’s grotesquely obnoxious psychiatrist boyfriend in an early Friends episode (not the guitarist’s fault, of course, but it still heightened Phoenix’s air of aloof detachment, for this spectator at least).
But, perhaps one must look away from the bigger picture sometimes, as this gig provided a succession of seriously excellent individual moments. ‘Napoleon Says’ proved a devastatingly stylish opener, the track’s bouncy disco-rock swagger setting the mood perfectly. ‘I’m An Actor’ was a definite highlight; a crunching, almost metallic stomp through a perfectly rounded, sculpted piece of pop-rock – all instrumentation dropping out halfway through, bar a gentle rapping on the drums, while Mars stared stoically and blankly at the audience – like the inverse of My Bloody Valentine’s legendarily ear-splitting ‘Holocaust’ section during live versions of ‘You Made Me Realise’.
Best of all was ‘Funky Squaredance’, a deliriously brilliant slab of pomp-rockin’ disco-pop; that was a moment where Phoenix raised their game, leaving the audience thrilled rather than merely very satisfied.