Phantogram
with Bad Things
Orlando, FL • June 27, 2014
Alexa Harris
Experimental electronic pop duo Phantogram took The Beacham by storm with their vivid, high-energy performance. The fun beats of the synth pop duo’s latest album Voices demanded an interesting show, and audience members were anxious to see what was to come.
The opening act, fairly new band Bad Things, started the night off enthusiastically with their short pop-rock set. Lead singer David LeDuke gave a restless performance belting out songs and unceasing movement around the stage. Bad Things gave a casual performance taking many breaks to talk to the audience and crack jokes. Towards the end of the set, LeDuke encouraged the audience to buy some merch by joking, “we like money too,” and “We’re poor. Well, I’m poor.” He then proceeded to poke fun at famous band member two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White. White, nearly unrecognizable having given up his long red tresses, is the guitarist of Bad Things. The band clearly doesn’t want to be known by White’s fame having no mention of his name or past during the performance. The band is making a name for themself without relying on White’s household name. The performance got the crowd ready for the night and the bands humble and joking attitude was refreshing.
Anticipation began building within the crowd during the opening act as stagehands began setting up lights and reflectors for the main show. It was known that the performance would contain a generous use of strobe lights, but first timers could hardly prepare for the show that was about to unfold. From the first moment the fashion-forward Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter walked on stage to the last time they walked off of it, the show was a dynamic sensory overload. Between the booming music, the colorful lightshow, and the indefatigable performers, the show’s lively atmosphere begged for dancing and fun.
The opening song “Nothing But Trouble” immediately entranced the cramped crowd of the sold out show. The audience was whisked away into another world as the band laid down their beats seemingly made for bopping your head to. The show was picture-perfect in every way. Visually stunning and musically sounding even better than on the album, the highly professional show quite literally did not miss a beat in any aspect. One of the most captivating moments of the night was when the band performed the song “Bill Murray.” The song’s ethereal, dreamlike sound was made into a fantasy as Barthel wrapped herself in a sequin cape as soft colored lights were reflected off of her.
For the entire length of the bands set, the artists refused to let there be a boring moment. Now having three albums out, the band had a large array of music to choose from having a full set for the night. The band focused on their newest album Voices, yet had a quite balanced set of old and new. They picked out some older fan favorites to close the night with like “Fall in Love,” “When I’m Small,” and “Mouthful of Diamonds.” Everyone left the show satisfied with the unique and high quality performance. Phantogram’s show had high expectations and delivered above and beyond what everyone had hoped for.
