A day after I saw Phantogram kick off their tour in Oakland to support their incredible newly released album, Voices, I was given the opportunity to photograph the band at Ace of Spades in Sacramento. Still riding the high from their captivating performance the night before, it didn’t take much convincing myself that I could not pass up the chance to get photos.
For someone that attends a lot of shows, this was a first for me. I’ve never been to back to back shows of the same band, let alone drove a few hours out of the way to see someone. But they were that good! So I hit the road, and arrived a little after 8pm, just in time to catch the opener, White Sea. At this point, there was a massive line that stretched down the block to get into the venue and the inside was shoulder-to-shoulder packed.
White Sea is a solo project for M83 vocalist, Morgan Kibby. Their sound can be described as dreamy electronic music that builds up to dramatic climaxes. Although their style of music was different from Phantogram’s, they proved to be a solid compliment to the night. Morgan’s voice was powerful and undeniably emotional, which sounded amazing live and definitely got the crowd hyped. Her debut full-length album is slated to come out this spring on Crush Music, and you can check out her latest track called “Prague” below:
After a 30 minute intermission, Phantogram made their way to the stage to a loud roar from the amped Sacramento crowd. The New York duo, Josh Carter & Sarah Barthel, were accompanied by a live drummer and additional guitarist/keyboardist. The band jumped right into a b-side track off their Limited Edition Tour EP simply titled “Intro”, and kept the high energy going from there. The new pulsating light show that they’ve been teasing on their site suited their songs well and had me mesmerized at times. I was blown away with how well they were able to re-create their studio sound live. Sarah Barthel’s soaring voice and compelling stage presence made her the focal point of the night and had guys crushing over her pretty hard. This is a must see tour for 2014, as they do not show any signs of slowing down.
Highlights for me included “Black Out Days,” “Don’t Move,” “Fall In Love” and “When I’m Small.”
Setlist
1) Intro
2) Nothing But Trouble
3) Running From The Cops
4) As Far As I Can See
5) Black Out Days
6) Turning Into Stone
7) Bad Dreams
8) Don’t Move
9) The Day You Died
10) Bill Murray
11) I Don’t Blame You
12) Fall In Love
13) Howling At The Moon
14) When I’m Small
Encore:
15) Mouthful Of Diamonds
16) Celebrating Nothing
17) Futuristic Casket
