Upstate New York’s Phantogram and Ohio-based Josiah Wolf (of Why?) are coming tomorrow night, Friday, October 8, to Rips Ales and Cocktails, which should make up for a fun live show in a nontraditional lounge setting.
Phantogram is a two-piece band with the shoegaze, techno sound of Yeasayer and vocals and thicker beats of Sleigh Bells. Josh Carter (guitar) and Sarah Barthel (vocals/keyboardist) were childhood friends before starting Phantogram in 2007.
More boy-and-girl duos keep popping up, and every time it’s something new, intriguing and mind-blowing. The band has shared the stage with bands such as The xx, Metric and Ra Ra Riot, and played SXSW last year.
They were recently featured in SPIN and have been surging up the indie status chart with their February debut release, Eyelid Movies. Choice cuts “Running from the Cops” and “Mouthful of Diamonds” (see below) should added to your iPod as soon as possible.
Their electro-pop-meets-hip-hop beats will have you bobbing your head and wondering how only four hands make all that noise.
And, if you haven’t heard of Why?, the band’s drummer will be a nice surprise as an opener. Along with his younger brother, Yoni Wolf, who is the lead singer of Why?, Josiah Wolf has an quirky voice that seems odd at first but quickly begins to grow on you.
His solo album, Jet Lag, has a nice, slow, calm feeling about it, but there are surprises along with the soft sounds. What’s even more surprising is that he played every single instrument on the CD, so how will he do it in person? You’ll have to go to Rips to find out.
The show was originally scheduled at Sanctum on the Melrose Curve, but the venue has changed to Rips, which isn’t a typical spot to see live music of the non-DJ variety, so it’s nice to see new potential venues popping up in the ‘hood. The show (21+ only) is $10 and doors open at 9 p.m. The bill also includes DJs William Reed, Jared Alan and Sean Watson.
Rips Fine Ales and Cocktails is located at 3045 N. 16th St. in Midtown — 602.266.0015
