Tag Archives: Phantogram
Caribou Plays The Beach at Governors Island for Free
July 15th, 2010
Canadian electronic musician Dan Snaith began his career under the name Manitoba, and his debut EP, People Eating Fruit, came out in 2000. But despite releasing more material under the same moniker, a lawsuit forced him to make a switch. So following a move to London, Snaith, like a, well, caribou rising from the ashes, emerged as Caribou. His most recent albums, Andorra and Swim, have earned him much praise. The talented multi-instrumentalist and composer—who also happens to hold a Ph.D. in mathematics—plays live with a full band, which you can see for yourself when as part of the Gone to Governors series, Caribou (above, performing “Odessa” for Channel 4’s Music on 4) plays for FREE tomorrow night at The Beach at Governors Island with electro-rock duo Phantogram and the psychedelic the Chain Gang of 1974 opening.
FERRY INFORMATION
We encourage everyone to come early and enjoy The Beach. Governors Island ferries will run from the Battery Maritime Building until 5:30 p.m. If you are on the island early, please make sure to get yourself to The Beach by 5:30 p.m., when concert wristbands will be available. After 5:30 p.m., ferries will depart regularly from the north end of the Battery Maritime Building, which is easily accessible from the 1, 2/3, J/Z, R/W and A/C subway lines.
Phantogram Exceeds Expectations
February 15th, 2010Phantogram – Mercury Lounge – February 12, 2010
It’s an exciting experience to see a new band live. Will the group sound like the music on their record? How will they present their material? Does their appearance match their sound? While these questions—and others—color the perception of a concert, they are ultimately just subtext to the performance. The visceral feeling from the first chord, note, or sound leaves an indelible impression. At Phantogram’s sold-out show at Mercury Lounge on Friday, it was the initial beat of “As Far as I Can See” that silenced doubt and stuck in the crowd’s collective conscience.
Phantogram is the moniker for guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel’s band. Hailing from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the duo recently released their debut album, Eyelid Movies. In one sense, their sound feels familiar, evoking comparisons to such contemporaries as Beach House and Portishead. But, as their album demonstrates, they also have a unique depth and variety to their music, which sets them apart. On tracks like “When I’m Small,” elements of hip-hop and electronic rock fuse together with Barthel’s soft, beautiful vocals for spectacular results.
Once Carter and Barthel took the stage, following Junk Culture’s set, the crowd swelled in size. How droves of people heard about this rising band is unknown, but judging from the attendance, word is spreading rapidly. In addition to their setup of guitar, keyboard and samplers, Phantogram provided a foot-pedal-activated strobe light and an artistic visual display projected onto a sheet. The accompaniment made for a tremendously dynamic and engaging show. During “All Dried Up,” night shots of a barren highway complemented the dark, serene tune. And so in both sound and appearance, Phantogram exceeded expectations. —Jared Levy
Photos courtesy of Diana Wong | dianawongphoto.blogspot.com
Phantogram/the Antlers – Mercury Lounge – April 2, 2009
April 3rd, 2009
Last night at Mercury Lounge, the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., duo, Phantogram (formerly known as Charlie Everywhere) opened as the first of four bands. Onstage, it’s just friends-since-high-school Sara Barthel on synthesizer, Josh Carter on guitar, and a Mac laptop—kind of like a latter-day two turntables and a microphone.
The band’s name fits them to a T because a phantogram is a two-dimensional image that’s distorted so it appears to viewers in 3D. And with the twosome’s engaging light show behind their urban-beats-and-psychedelic-melodies soundscape, they appear and sound much larger than they really are. Although some songs have a heavier, industrial sound, Josh and Sara seem destined to become the king and queen of good-times late-night dance parties.
The Antlers, the third band to perform last night, are a trio—guitar, drums and keys—and without the thump, thump, thump of a bass, their set began with a quiet, slow-building sound that progressively opened up, becoming almost dreamy as they continued. Singer-songwriter Peter Silberman’s voice is, well, lovely, even when singing about “getting fucked and unfucked.” And on the band’s final song, “Cold War,” his vocals were like something out of Jeff Buckley’s far-reaching upper register. And then their sweeping sound slowly dissipated until it was still, quiet, finished. —R. Zizmor
