Last year, Phoenix played an intimate show at The Fillmore Philadelphia the night before playing in front of thousands at The Governors Ball Music Festival. The performance was truly unforgettable and something I never thought I would see again. This is a band that was just about to play the biggest music festival in NYC, has toured the world, and even headlined a show at Madison Square Garden (I was there for that one too. Daft Punk came out and it was insane.). So it was a great surprise to see the announcement of their “Speciale” residency at Brooklyn Steel. Originally only three days long, the demand was too high and two more dates were announced, creating the perfect post-July 4th event.
On the second to last night of the residency, the Grammy award-winning band played an incredible career-spanning set filled with hits, deep cuts, and songs from their latest album, Ti Amo.
Unlike most bands, when they said the show would be “A Very Special Night With Phoenix,” they meant it. As soon as you walked into the Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn’s beautiful new venue – you could tell that the band pulled out all the stops to make this a memorable experience for fans. From the giant disco ball to the gelato station, the entire venue was transformed to look like an Italian Discoteca. Fans had the opportunity to purchase exclusive merch or even try out a limited-edition sake in collaboration with historic Japanese sake company, Tatenokawa.
Opening for Phoenix during their stint in Brooklyn was the psychedelic rock artist, Giorgio Poi. The Italian singer perfectly set the tone for the night and later joined Phoenix on stage to play a remixed version of the band’s Ti Amo track, “Lovelife.”
After watching Giorgio Poi’s set, enjoying some sake, and purchasing a signed vinyl, it was time for the main event. Phoenix took the stage and opened with J-Boy, the lead single of Ti Amo, followed by “Lasso” off the 2009 breakthrough record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and “Entertainment” from 2013’s Bankrupt!
Their massive 20+ song setlist delved into their entire discography with tracks such as “If I Ever Feel Better” from their debut album, United and current Ti Amo songs like “Role Model,” “Ti amo,” and “Fior di latte.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Phoenix show without hits like “Lisztomania” and “1901.” They also played some songs you could only experience live like a mashup between “Too Young” and “Girlfriend” or “Bankrupt!” and “Love Like a Sunset,” hilariously titled “Sunskrupt!”
After three nights and only one day off, Phoenix was still able to bring the house down on the fourth night of their Brooklyn Steel residency and further cemented their status as one of the best live bands touring today.
