Music review: Marrying Phoenix on a Tuesday

It was a choice between a concert ticket or a plane ticket to Burma, both of which had the same price. After much deliberation, I decided a week before Phoenix’s Manila concert that the latter was more practical. It was not easy; in fact, it was pretty depressing.

Knowing that I’d made a bad decision, I crowd-sourced my evaluation and used social media to ask people how much regret I would likely have if I did not watch the concert. I knew the answer, but I wanted validation. All replies pointed to too much regret, and that I simply must go—what I needed and wanted to hear.

“Bankrupt!”, the band’s fifth and latest critically-acclaimed album sounded so apt in more ways that one, but I left the house at 4 p.m. on concert day, crossing my fingers for tickets at the gate.

From Libis to…Damascus?

Versailles-based Phoenix, made up of Laurent Brancowitz (guitar/keyboards), Deck d'Arcy (bass/keyboards), Thomas Mars (vocals), and Christian Mazzalai (guitars), kicked off the show with “Entertainment,” and “Lasso,” the first singles off “Bankrupt!”

The crowd-bouncing started getting serious during “Lisztomania,” the first track off the band’s fourth album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” (2009)—the album that brought them mainstream success and broadened their fanbase. This was a particularly memorable song for me—back in college, when the album came out, many drunken days and nights were spent debating on what Mars was saying—my friends and I settled for “from Libis to Damascus” (I believe the correct words are “from a mess to the masses”) a line from what sounded like “alisto mania.”

One of the most remarkable parts of the concert was the screen, on which played gripping visuals that dovetailed so well with the songs. Personal favorites were the smoke worming its way throughout the screen, and a drive through Paris in the trippy “Love Like a Sunset” and “Bankrupt” mash-up. At one point, a photo of a volcano was projected onscreen, I thought “cool, a volcano,” but later realized that “holy—perfect cone! It’s Mayon!” which, of course, made it a thousand times cooler.

Two additions to the quartet—Thomas Hedlund (drums) and Rob Coudert (keyboards, percussion)—also both gave remarkable performances. These were highlighted in “Trying to Be Cool,” which suddenly turned into “Drakkar Noir,” which morphed into “Chloroform.” If this wasn't enough, the light show accompaniment was incredibly fun as well.


“Buckle up, we'll chase each other / It's not a lot it's just enough to matter / Anyway you want the truth is / I will marry you on Tuesday,” Mars sings. It was a Tuesday night, and there was so much love and dancing, it could very well have been a wedding.  

Neither “Napoleon Says” nor “Everything is Everything” from two earlier albums—“It’s Never Been Like That” and “Alphabetical”—made it to the set list, but at least the band did “Run Run Run” and “Long Distance Call.”

Mars, who really couldn’t be more adorable, said something about their waiting for years to play in the country, and the Philippine crowd being “the loudest.” There were reportedly a number of great fan moments—some head-rubbing, a bit of crowd-surfing—but I was too far away from the stage to witness it. At least three people told me that their night’s highlight was being able to touch the lanky, well-dressed Frenchman.

After the crowd favorite “1901” came the encore of a slower version of “Countdown,” with only Mars and Mazzalai on stage. A part of the originally 9-minute “Funky Squaredance” that played after “If I Ever Feel Better” was a great suprise, and “Rome”—the “Wolfgang” track on my top five Phoenix songs of all time—induced a lot of swaying from the crowds.     

Kickstarting a year of concerts

The concert, incredible from start to finish, was capped by a reprise of “Entertainment,” and—as if Mars’s approaching the sound booth where my friends and I were staying was not celebration enough—down came the confetti.

What a great way to start a year of concerts in the country—soon we’ll have FebFest, featuring The National, Mogwai, Youth Lagoon, and Warpaint; and Malasimbo Arts and Music Festival, with acts like Jose Gonzalez and Robert Glasper Experiment. Phoenix was a wonderful portent; it’s going to be a good year for music festivals and concerts this year.

What could have been a night of sulking at home transformed into a night I sure won’t forget. So merci beaucoup, Phoenix, Karpos Multimedia, and everyone who made this concert possible. If the band ever decides to come back, I definitely wouldn’t think twice. — VC, GMA News