MANILA, Philippines - During the early months of 2013, anticipation for the follow-up to Phoenix’s sublime fourth album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix†skyrocketed. The French four-piece did not waste this anticipation, as they rolled out their latest album “Bankrupt!†with an air of cheerfulness, or as the French would call it, joie de vivre, surrounding nearly every step of the entire process. Such process involved releasing music videos and a Take Away show, performing in TV appearances, collaborating with other artists, headlining major festivals, and of course, being on the road from city to city across continents for their album tour.
With every stop of the tour, Phoenix has proven why they are part of the Top Live Acts of 2013 and why they’ve been dubbed as Coachella’s Breakout Kings. From Europe to USA and currently in Asia, the legendary indie band’s live shows have been filled with highlights, which concert-goers will readily recognize as unique to Phoenix performances even after years to come.
One hallmark of the Phoenix performance is their career-spanning setlist that includes medleys and mash-ups of their own songs, both from their previous albums and from “Bankrupt!â€. Too Young segues into Girlfriend; Trying to Be Cool into Drakkar Noir into Chloroform, and usually right in the middle of a show, Sunskrupt combines wuth Bankrupt and both parts of Love Like a Sunset.
Pinoy Phoenix fans can also expect a visually arresting live show, complete with raining confetti. In one show, they even made it rain zero dollar bills, which was an artistic currency designed by visual artist Richard Prince — a quirky representation of “bankruptcy.†Chromatic blasts of colorful stage light also pulsate to the band’s every poppy beat.
What’s more, vocalist Thomas Mars is known for his penchant for crowd interaction, with stage dives, which he does while wearing his favorite Oxford blue shirts. Even the way Thomas introduces the band to the crowd is somewhat endearing. “We are Phoenix, coming from Paris, France!†he shouts.
Anyone who has seen the band live on tour — in one of their 80-something performances so far that have covered the globe and dotted many major festival stages — has likely been treated to an amazing and unforgettable concert experience. With Phoenix possibly being the best example of a band successfully making the leap from small venues to arena show, Filipino concert enthusiasts definitely have a whole lot to look forward to with their show in Manila. And with the way that the “Bankrupt!†album tour is going right now, it’s hard to imagine how they ever did a show in anything smaller than an arena, as it seems that the foursome was born for the big stage.
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Watch Phoenix Live in Manila on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. at the World Trade Center. As of press time, the remaining tickets for Gold Standing are available at P3,500. Get your tickets at SM Tickets, www.smtickets.com or call 470-2222 for more inquiries. This event is presented by Karpos Multimedia and co-presented by Fox and Starworld. Supreme is a media partner.