Vive la France: A Day in the Life of Phoenix

By Eileen Tilson

After hearing “Listzomania,” from French band
Phoenix’s latest album Wolfgang Amadeus, in the new Cadillac commercial,
it is not hard not to realize that this band is poised to be a worldwide
success.  Selling out shows across the country, Phoenix-mania has already taken
hold on America. I followed Phoenix around Atlanta for their sold out show at
the Variety Playhouse, and am happy to report that the soon these four soon to
be megastars are nothing more than polite Frenchmen, who definitely like their
“guac.”

The day started at the Criminal Records in-store
performance. The store was packed and the pizza was flowing as the band walked
out onto the stage. They performed a very stripped down version of their singles
“Listzomania” and “1901” along with some old favorites. Even though it was a
million degrees inside the building, the band was wearing scarfs and pea-coats,
complaining of the air conditioning. After the show the guys stayed for a good
hour, to the dismay of their record label rep., to sign autographs, take
pictures, take homemade CDs from aspiring musicians, and even put some lucky
fans that were not able to buy tickets, on the guest list. 

After Criminal Records it was off to grab some
lunch, and when I asked what they would be interested in eating, Christian, the
band’s guitar player, announced that he would really like some “guac,” which of
course ended up sounding more like a “quack” than the avocado dip. Watching the
band at Tin Lizzy’s was definitely an entertaining endeavor, especially when
lead singer Thomas Mars (Sofia Coppola’s main squeeze) returned from going to
the ‘toilet” and asked me whether he was a “lizzie” or a “lizard.” After lunch
it was off to do a quick radio interview, before heading back to the venue for
soundcheck. 

The band opened up the Variety Playhouse show with “Litstzomania,” and the
crowd automatically went into a dance frenzy. The set list included a mix of
songs old and new, with a blaze of neon dance lights infused in the background,
setting up the disco mood:

"Lisztomania"

"Long Distance Call"

"Lasso"

"Run Run Run"

"Fences"

"Girlfriend"

"Armistice"

"Love Like a Sunset" – this was offset by
a dueling guitar solo battle by brothers Bronco and Christian, who earlier told
me that during this, they specifically try to make each other mess
up.

"Too Young"

"Rally
Consolation Prizes"

"Rome"

——

"If I ever feel better" – the band has
only played this song twice before, left the audience still. The band was having so much fun that they decided to
continue to play. Mars got up and let Atlanta know that he doesn’t normally say
this, but this is one of his favorite shows he has ever played. He must have
been speaking the truth because at that moment he jumped into the crowd and
walked up the aisles singing. After being surrounded by the crowd, Mars decided
the best way to get back to the stage was to crows surf, again something that he
has never done at any other show.

"1901" – the show ended with the
current hit single, and all arms went up into the air, as the crowd went into a
frenzy. The high energy song had the crowd bouncing around, and the band was all
smiles feeding each note and fuzzed out guitar noise as if they were the biggest
band on the planet, and by the end of the show, you could not help but to be
excited for the future of Phoenix.

Backstage at the end of the show, all four of the
boys were fighting each other to see who got to get into the shower first. Deck
D’arcy (bass) informed me how the French hate to be sweaty, and then offered me
some fruit and cheese. Rockstars they may be on stage, but at the end of the
day, Phoenix remain the polite, guacamole-loving, guys from Versailles, who just
enjoy playing music because as they believe “the tunnel of fame is short.” Vive
la France.