Phoenix

Phoenix are probably the clearest proof that you can make easy, immediate pop in every respect without settling for already well-worn stylistic tropes, whether in melody or arrangement. The French band's songs carry a thoroughly recognizable style and a consistently high level of quality, and there's no shortage of potential for them to win over a much wider audience than the roughly 300 people who showed up at the Reggia di Venaria.

The reason why projects like, among others, Scissor Sisters or Lily Allen enjoy, at least in Italy, far greater interest certainly can't be put down to purely musical merit, since there's nothing remotely "alternative" about Phoenix's repertoire — yet the sound, the vocal timbre and the melodies are about as simple and catchy as it gets. The issue is probably purely about the ability to be a personality beyond one's own songs, and Thomas Mars's long-running relationship with Sophia Coppola clearly isn't enough to shake the mental torpor of the mainstream crowd.

In any case, the biggest curiosity going into a live show by the Parisian band was precisely to see whether these musicians had what it takes to reproduce on stage that same balance between quality and immediacy. Granted the melodies are what they are, the key questions were whether Mars would maintain the same clarity and consistency in his singing, whether the interplay between the electric and digital elements would carry the same freshness and dynamism you hear on record, and above all whether all the subtle nuances that distinguish each song from the next would come through clearly. I say above all because, at the recent Glastonbury performance I attended, the opening songs suffered from an overly flattened sound and so didn't come across as well as they could have.

Tonight, however, the band didn't have to share the stage with anyone else, and so had all the time it needed to set the levels just right. The opening "Lisztomania" already shows off the full plasticity and depth of the Phoenix sound, while immediately sparking the enthusiasm of a crowd that was warm and thoroughly devoted to the band. Compared to the record, the naturalness remains intact in the way the guitar-heavy verse melts into the keyboard riff at the start of the chorus, which then overlaps with the guitars' return, and the sound as a whole is remarkably bright, with Mars's voice already in full gear, riding with real conviction the wave of sunny energy coming from the instrumental section. The song is the first of an opening quartet that includes nothing less than "Consolation Prizes", "Long Distance Call" and "Lasso", heavyweight tracks performed flawlessly, with technical mastery, expressiveness and the extraordinary tightness that is one of this band's hallmarks.

The lineup features six people on stage: besides Mars, who handles vocals only, there are two guitars, a bass, a drummer and an added percussionist, and aside from the drummer, each of the other four switches, as needed, to their own keyboard instead of their main instrument. It's clear, then, that not only does the digital side have a different sound and style depending on who's handling it, but the electric side changes too depending on who steps away from contributing to it. Moreover, such a wide range of solutions on offer on stage, and above all the way they're delivered, adds further value to the show: the impression of watching a truly collective performance, one in whose economy every protagonist is indispensable, without attention naturally falling on one designated leader while the others simply play second fiddle.

Sure, the frontman's stage moves are enough to beam a solid dose of charisma out to the crowd, and what's striking too is the absolute assurance of his singing, which doesn't betray the slightest hint of breathlessness even when the vocal effort is both intense and sustained — clear evidence not just of natural talent, but also of top-notch technical training. Without the instrumental setup just described, though, this ability of his would remain an end in itself, and there's another aspect that proves decisive to the performance's success, namely the purely emotional one. It's immediately clear that Phoenix are having a great night especially on this front, and the fun they're visibly having on stage makes the crowd even more warmly disposed towards them, and these positive vibes coming from the audience feed back into the musicians, making them want to play even better and with even more drive and energy. It's a virtuous circle that seems to never end, the empathy between fans and band reaching extremely high levels. When Thomas Mars comes down for a moment to sing right up against the barrier, you really get the feeling he's doing it not to follow some script, but out of genuine gratitude toward such an adoring crowd. And when he thanks the crowd for not moving an inch despite the rain that had started falling, you can tell just how heartfelt that thanks really is.

As for the setlist, after an opening packed with major songs, as we've seen, the band moves on to a series of tracks that are only nominally minor, simply because they weren't released as singles — otherwise they have nothing to envy in the more celebrated ones. Unsurprisingly, the last two albums dominate, though there's also room for a few moments from the first two. The encores open with two voice-and-guitar-only songs and then close out with a trio of big singles: "Too Young", "If I Ever Feel Better" and "1901", at the end of which Thomas once again comes down from the stage, this time climbing up onto the barrier itself, soaking up as much of the fans' warmth as possible as they sing, scream and applaud in ever more adoring fashion.

A Sunday night, then, that was perfect in every respect, one that showed just how little Phoenix have to envy in any other pop band when it comes to their live performance too, and that gave everyone present just the right dose of positive feeling to kick off the week on a high note

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