Phoenix is rising WESLEY REYNA Thursday, June 25, 2009
PHOENIX

There are rare points in a band’s career when it seems the planets align and everything is in the right place at the right time. Phoenix is in this very place, at this very moment. After appearing on Saturday Night Live in April, the group has been on a whirlwind tour of the world in support of their new album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.”

Tonight Phoenix will bring their energetic live show to the Bluebird Theater for a sold-out show.  The Denver Daily News spoke with Phoenix guitarist Laurent “Branco” Brancowitz about their current tour, playing SNL, and the new album. 

After playing music festivals all over Europe, Phoenix brought their tour to North America starting with Bonnaroo on June 12.  The tour has been a mix of enormous crowds and intimate venues. Brancowitz said this about the variety of crowd size: “We love the contrast. It is really cool to be able to play in a very small room, and then a big place. I prefer small rooms, but sometimes there is something really beautiful when you go in front of a lot of people. It is a different kind of pleasure.”

In a strong debut, Phoenix introduced two songs off of the album in a surprising appearance on SNL after being underappreciated in America for nearly a decade.  

When asked if the appearance had been a long time aspiration of theirs, Brancowitz said: “Actually, it was kind of a goal for this album, but we said it with more of a joke than a real goal. We said to our American label, ‘We want to play SNL,’ and they said, ‘OK, we have all of it ready,’ and we did it! It was cool, but we said it as a joke, so it was even more magical, you know.”

Phoenix won’t be playing venues the size of the Bluebird much longer. While their previous three LPs were all acclaimed efforts, their newest album is already an instant classic of sorts. Recorded with the help of Philippe Zdar, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” is a production masterpiece. Brancowitz explained that they wanted to go for a more complex vibe on the album, which took a year-and-a-half to record. 

The album is full of references to classical musicians. “Lisztomania,” one of the stronger singles off the album, (which is named after Mozart), is a reference to pianist Franz Liszt, who could be considered one of the world’s first true rock stars. When the Denver Daily News asked Brancowitz if these classical references were intentional, he said: “What was intentional is more the idea to explore something very European, to create some kind of mythology of continental Europe. You know we are French and we are not British or American.  And we want to make it obvious.”  He added, “We had this idea of creating something that was more personal, that was talking about you know European roots.” 

If you were unable to get tickets for tonight’s show, Phoenix will bring their “European roots” to the Monolith Festival in September. If you are fortunate enough to see them live tonight, appreciate the intimate venue; it may be a while before they play a theater of this size again.

Where: Bluebird Theater

When: Tonight 8 p.m.

Cost: $22

Info: www.bluebirdtheater.net

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