Despite the fact that everyone and their kids know the words to about a dozen Tom Petty songs, I still feel like the guy is underrated as a songwriter and his body of work as a whole is underappreciated. Not only that, but he’s always been a hell of a live performer. I’ve seen him play in the past 5 years and he still puts on a great show, but to be at a Tom Petty show in the 80’s must have been a special thing. Case in point, this performance of “Breakdown” from his debut album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This is from a 1980 performance in France and the band is in fine form. I still find it amazing that something this bluesy and loose came from his first album. Enjoy: continue reading...
Wow. Talk about your all time coolest surprise guests… Why does all the cool shit happen in New York City? In the encore of Phoenix’s Oct. 20th performance at MSG they were joined by countrymen Daft Punk in the middle of “If I Ever Feel Better” which then segued into “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and finally a collaborative “Around The World”. They then finished the show off with an extended Daft Punk-ified version of “1901″. Not too shabby. They crowd obviously goes mental. With Daft Punk’s scoring and cameo-ing in the upcoming Tron movie, lets hope that they continue to make surprise appearances… or even tour again!? Check out the videos from last night: continue reading...
2010 might as well be remembered as the year Phoenix exploded onto the scene. Their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix received rave reviews across the board and they performed sold out shows around the world. They also drew massive crowds at festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza with a live show that did not disappoint. I had the luxury of seeing them early on in the year before they were playing massive venues and I can attest to them being a terrific live band with an energy that will render you unable to stand still. They are a band that makes pure pop music that defies boundaries, genres and expectations and I can’t wait to see where they go next. I easily could have chosen one of the 2 big singles, but the song “Lasso” was always my favorite off of the new album. Here’s Phoenix performing “Lasso”, keep an eye on the drummer, he’s great! continue reading...
With Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix being easily one of the best albums of 2009 and multiple televised performances from around the globe, this is the year that Phoenix finally exploded. In these amazing videos from the Blogotheque the guys from Phoenix go back home to France for some performances on the street and with the people. These are really great:
1901: continue reading...
I’m a bit late on this one, but the Champ of Air Guitar was crowned this past August and Sylvain “Gunther Love” Quimene of France can now claim the honor. Watch his admittedly impressive skills below:
Sylvain “Gunther Love” Quimene (FR) sparkled brighter than the setting sun, and won over both the audience and the judges with his sensuous performance at the Air Guitar World Championships on 21 August in Oulu. The contest was extremely tight but in the end the defending World Champion, Craig “Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier, had to surrender his title to France. continue reading...
Formed in the 1990s in Versailles, a suburb of France, Phoenix was born out of the Paris techno/electronic music scene, along with bands such as Daft Punk. Having reached immense popularity in Europe, Phoenix is finally beginning to earn their stripes in North America, playing the nighttime talk-show circuit before embarking on an American tour. In this video, http://www.WatchMojo.com speaks with Thomas and Christian from the band to find out if singing in a language other than their mother tongue is a disadvantage, and we get some insight into their writing process. continue reading...
Get on your dancing shoes, because this one should get you moving. This clip recently won best video of 2007 over at Stereogum.com and I’m not gonna disagree with them… although that Zach Galifianakis/Kanye West clip is pretty undeniable. Check out some t-shirt madness from French electro band, Justice:
http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous continue reading...
Quickly labeled the “French Strokes” by the music press, Phoenix should get a lot more attention than they do. The band does come from France, but the Strokes they aren’t. They write great songs and have a sound all their own that touches on everything from powerpop to synth pop to indie rock and everything inbetween. Their latest album It’s Never Been Like That is fantastic and features the song “Consolation Prizes” which also ends up having a great video. The clip is pretty simple in its concept but the execution is perfect and stays interesting the whole way through. Definitly a great job by the editor on this one. Watch the video and quickly become a fan: continue reading...
