Phoenix, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 12/9/2009

I was pretty beyond excited for this ... I've been a Phoenix fan for a while, seen them a few times over the years, and knew that they brought it. And now, of course, they've blown up, yet oddly, they were playing a super great (and perfectly sized) venue in Columbus, the Newport. I kept expecting this to get moved to the LC, but they kept it here despite it selling out.

We got there pretty early, made it through the openers (whose name totally escapes me now) and settled in for Phoenix. And it was fantastic. They sounded amazing and amazingly tight yet also brought a very nice level of an organic, "real" sound. They were also genuinely into it, which was nice to see. A very high energy level with a setlist that stretched back.

The photos are from when Thomas, the singer, came out in the crowd (right by us, obviously) for the final song, "1901." One of the best shows of the year for me ...

Setlist:

Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run, Run, Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Countdown
Love Like a Sunset
Napolean Says
Rally
Consolation Prizes
Rome->extended outro

ENCORE
Everything Is Everything (Thomas and guitar only)
???
Too Young
1901