Concert Review: Phantogram at Union Transfer 12/6/13

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by Kirsten Becker

Phantogram’s sold ­out stop at the Union Transfer on December 6th was part of their highly anticipated tour in support of their latest album, Voices, which is also their first album in four years.

I was pleasantly surprised by opener Until the Ribbon Breaks, the relatively new project of Welshman Pete Lawrie. The act blends electronic elements seen in recent dance music as well as plain old rock influences. At various points during the set Lawrie showed off his talents on the trumpet as well as other instruments, and displayed his versatility in his unique style of music. Welsh’s distorted vocals also added an interesting addition to his somber lyrics. Songs like “2025,” “Romeo,” and “Pressure” won the crowd over. Until the Ribbon Breaks is definitely a band to look out for in 2014, and you should expect to see more news from Lawrie’s project in the future.

Phantogram came on around 11:00 p.m. to an ecstatic crowd. Singer Sarah Barthel’s powerful voice cut through the band’s shoegaze vibes. A chilling rendition of “Mouthful of Diamonds” captivated the audience as well as fan­favorite “When I’m Small”. The quirky “Running From the Cops” featured guitarist Josh Carter taking over vocal duties.

Their latest single, “Black Out Days” showed a different side of the band. The high energy song accompanied by an incredible light show brought the performance up another notch. Barthel took the time between songs to thank the crowd and Philadelphia for consistently being a great place to play. It was visible she and Carter were feeding off the crowd’s energy and were having a great time on stage.

Phantogram played a couple more new songs from Voices including “Never Going Home” and “The Day You Died” before finally ending the set just around midnight.

Top Played Artists 11/12 – 11/18

1 TENNIS: Small Sound [EP]
2 DR. DOG: B-Room
3 OF MONTREAL: Lousy With Sylvianbriar
4 YUCK: Glow And Behold
5 DUCKTAILS: Wish Hotel [EP]
6 KEVIN DEVINE: Bubblegum
7 DIANE COFFEE: My Friend Fish
8 BELLE AND SEBASTIAN: The Third Eye Centre
9 KING KRULE: 6 Feet Beneath The Moon
10 NOBUNNY: Secret Songs: Reflections From The Ear Mirror
11 FUZZ: Fuzz
12 POLICA: Shulamith
13 DEER TICK: Negativity
14 COURTNEY BARNETT: The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas
15 PURLING HISS: Paisley Montage
16 PHANTOGRAM: Phantogram [EP]
17 SLEIGH BELLS: Bitter Rivals
18 THOSE DARLINS: Blur The Line
19 MINOR ALPS: Get There
20 PARQUET COURTS: Tally All The Things That You Broke [EP]
21 THE BLOW: The Blow
22 MAN MAN: On Oni Pond
23 FLATLINERS: Dead Language
24 DISMEMBERMENT PLAN: Uncanney Valley
25 RED FANG: Whales And Leeches
26 LA LUZ: It’s Alive
27 HEAD AND THE HEART: Let’s Be Still
28 WOODEN SHJIPS: Back To Land
29 MARIJUANA DEATHSQUADS: Oh My Sexy Lord
30 WHITE DENIM: Corsicana Lemonade

Top Played Artists 10/28/2013 – 11/4/2013

1 OF MONTREAL Lousy With Sylvianbriar
2 DR. DOG B-Room
3 DEER TICK Negativity
4 YUCK Glow And Behold
5 KING KRULE 6 Feet Beneath The Moon
6 PARQUET COURTS Tally All The Things That You Broke [EP]
7 KEVIN DEVINE Bubblegum
8 BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Third Eye Centre
9 THOSE DARLINS Blur The Line
10 FUZZ Fuzz
11 SLEIGH BELLS Bitter Rivals
12 POLICA Shulamith
13 DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR. The Speed Of Things
14 HAIM Days Are Gone
15 MAN MAN On Oni Pond
16 FRANKIE ROSE Herein Wild
17 PHANTOGRAM Phantogram [EP]
18 THE BLOW The Blow
19 BEST COAST Fade Away
20 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Blue Record [EP]
21 CHVRCHES The Bones Of What You Believe
22 HEAD AND THE HEART Let’s Be Still
23 RUBBLEBUCKET Save Charlie [EP]
24 OBITS Bed And Bugs
25 MAZZY STAR Seasons Of Your Day
26 CHELSEA WOLFE Pain Is Beauty
27 DISMEMBERMENT PLAN Uncanney Valley
28 COURTNEY BARNETT The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas
29 ALBERT HAMMOND JR. AHJ
30 VOLCANO CHOIR Repave