Phoenix upset!

band sounded great and the crowd had a lot of energy. the sub 5' girl beside me had a bit too much energy in fact and pummeled the hell out of me while "dancing"

terrible venue though. and not just because of the neighborhood (some 10 year old threw a rock at my car) but the heat, the packed house and horrid sight lines made what should have been an awesome time unbearable. we left before the encore, which i dont know that i've ever done before. i'm never going back there again

>>>Phoenix's drummer …

Killer drummer, but I guess he's not officially in the band.  I noticed when they were on SNL the tinted band photos in the bumpers excluded him. 
I wish someone would make a concert DVD of this band while they're hot.  Maybe Michel Gondry?  He's also from Versailles.

hopefully someone can do a poster for their next show.

this was such a FUN show… made even better by the crowd.  after trying to hang up front (about 10 feet in front of the bar on the left side), we couldn't take the heat.  moving back by the sound board was the best decision i've made in awhile :)

extended '1901' was the perfect set closer…and the pogoing in the end was soooooo fun :)

Great great show.  I'm exhausted and my ears are still ringing, but completely worth it. 

I agree with most of the sentiments here.  It was boiling but for some reason it didn't bother me at all.  After a full weekend, the sauna was theraputic. 

Amazing Baby was utterly forgettable, if not just bad.  How does a band as good as Phoenix get stuck with a third rate opener in a second rate venue? 

Setlist was great - they played pretty much all of my favorites from United and It's Never Been Like That.  Great to hear Funky Squaredance and I thought the heavier Sometimes in the Fall was brilliant.

It was a louder and heavier show than I was expecting from them.  A lot of the nuances got lost in the noise but I still dug it. 

I'm torn on the choice of venue.  RnR Hotel really is too small for them.  Not only could they have sold out black cat or 9:30, I think they would sound better in a bigger space.  They were tweaking the levels all night and it all came together just right on probably only a handful of songs from where I was standing.  I don't think you can play that loud in that small of a space and have it be very clear.  I've seen some other good shows at Rock and Roll Hotel though, so I can't say that the venue itself or the PA is awful. 

None of that mattered though for the last few songs and especially the finale.  1901 is my anthem of the summer and it was a perfect ending to the rocking sweaty set.  People take way too many pictures at shows, but I would love to see one with the whole room jumping and fist pumping in unison.  I agree with Bearman - it's that energy that keeps me going back to shows…it's rare and special when it works.  The small room gave it an intimacy that I'm not sure would have been matched in a larger venue. 

I hope they swing through again and play 9:30 so we can get the best of both…

Nice post Tom Servo.

Funny…last night reminded me of so many shows I saw at the old 9:30 Club…the stage is up to your knees, the sound isn't perfect, it's hot, sweaty, and totally cramped. If you don't stand in the right spot, you can't see a damn thing, and if a really huge band was playing the venue, it was tough to get tickets. But it made getting in special, and it made people feel that much more amped to see their favorite band in such a small place. Frankly, it made me feel really nostalgic for F Street. No gnarly smell or rats though, so that was an upside. Every now and then it's kind of nice to have a concert that just makes you appreciate the intimacy of a really, really cramped and hot & sweaty show. Sometimes when everything comes together like that it's brilliant. I remember the cold winter nights when you'd walk into the old 9:30 and it was about 85 degrees from all of the insanity of people dancing or moshing or whatever, then you'd stumble into the frigid air and risk pneumonia. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but I am happy to have some diversity in the DC venues. I started having MAJOR flashbacks to the old club, and it was great.