Phantogram Gives Us A Glimpse Of New Material

What better way to kick off opening month of the Mission Ballroom than new music from one of our favorite bands Phantogram. The duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have been busy in the studio making new music including a few singles which are out now including Mister Impossible and Into Happiness. Relying on a surplus of heavy synths and jangling guitar play the duo has kept to the formula with making only a few minor tweaks to the sound we have all come to love. Their Mission Ballroom performance was one of three stops in our fair state as they also played The Stanley Hotel and Mishawaka Amphitheatre. They also managed to fit in a DJ set after their performance at Mission at Larimer Lounge. The band production has grown as well as a drop down curtain similar to one they had a few years ago on another tour flanked the stage. The New York duo had always had a penchant for making us dance and Sunday night was no different as they ripped through their set and complimented Colorado on the new venue as Barthel mentioned the shiny new digs.

Words and Image-Robert Castro

Phantogram/Tycho Delivered Promising Performances At Red Rocks

Phantogram headlined their first ever Red Rocks Show (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Red Rocks Amphitheatre was the place to be this past Monday night as Phantogram and Tycho made their first stop of their current tour. A promising night as both acts played in front of a almost near sell-out crowd. For Tycho they were familiar with the venue having played before here in the past. With their customary chill-wave vibe the band tore through a pretty epic setlist as those in attendance got a chance to enjoy the brisk almost-summer evening! Opening with "Glider" the band played a majority of their hits including "Horizon", and "Awake" establishing dominance from the get to go. A perfect segway as the night dimmed for the headliner Phantogram. 

A band that has definitely paid their dues and has toured extensively the duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel have given us music to vibe to for many years now. Surprisingly this was their first headlining gig at the majestic venue (having headlined as Big Grams a few years ago).

The band opened with newer material off their latest album Three, with "You're Mine", and "Same Old Blues" before playing the classic "Don't Move". Mixing in old and new songs between the middle of their set it was the last quarter of songs that gave the audience the all too familiar established hits such as "Blackout Days", "Fall In Love", and "When I'm Small". The band opened up their encore with "Someday" a recently released song that focused on suicide prevention and mental illness. It was a magical night to say the least, hell we even got to see Barthel's Instagram famous dog Leroy The Good Boy come out for a bow to end the night.

Setlist:  You're Mine | Same Old Blues | Don't Move | Run Run Blood | Turning Into Blood | As Far As I Can See | A Mouthful Of Diamonds | Answer | Cruel World | Calling All | Blackout Days | Destroyer | Fall In Love | When Im Small | ENCORE: Someday | You Don't Get Me High Anymore | Futuristic Casket

Words and Images Robert Castro

Scott Hansen aka Tycho (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

An Evening With Phantogram | The Fillmore Auditorium | October 12, 2016

Riding the wave of their most recent album Three, Phantogram took their show to the Fillmore Auditorium on Wednesday to a rather raucous crowd. The duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have been making sweet dance music for our ears for a couple years now. Hits like "Blackout Days", and "Fall In Love", have always been in our constant rotation. Their new album has taken on a bold direction in which the band has managed to maintain the Phantogram traditional sound mixed in with what many consider a borderline concept album. Not sure if the album is still in it's infancy that many in the audience didn't recognize or are unfamiliar with the songs or that they prefer the Phantogram we have all come to love. Regardless the show provided for a new visual experiencet as Barthel and Carter both played behind a curtain that projected various glyphs and other elements that brought their songs to life. After a few songs the draped screen fell to reveal all the band members in their element. The band tends to grow more and more as their sound matures with every show, we have seen these guys in their humble beginning to them today debuting newer material.

Music | Big Grams: Collaboration Between Big Boi and Phantogram To Release 7 Song Album on September 25th

Big Grams, the quicksilver collaboration between six-time Grammy Award®-winner Big Boi, and the groundbreaking genre-bending duo Phantogram (Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter) have completed their self-titled studio debut, BIG GRAMS.  The eponymous 7-song collaboration will be released September 25th on Epic Records.

 

The story of how these two iconic acts came together is modern music history at its best.  Big Boi, a true music fan of all genres, was surfing the web and trying to close some pop-up ads when Phantogram's "Mouthful of Diamonds" started auto-playing.  Taken aback by their sound, Big Boi stopped what he was doing to Shazam the track to figure out who it was.  He liked it so much that he arranged for a meeting and thus, the kinship and now collaboration was born.  While the melding of their unique and individual sounds came together in the most organic way, it's obvious that these three musicians were destined to join forces.

Zane Lowe will premiere the first track "Fell In the Sun" tomorrow, September 10th, on Beats 1at 12:30 PM EST / 9:30 AM PST-tune in to hear the song and first radio interview with Big Grams.  Big Grams enlisted help from two of the most exciting names in electronic music and hip-hop for additional features, Skrillex on "Drum Machine" and El-P & Killer Mike's Run The Jewels on "Born To Shine", making this absolutely one of the cornerstone releases of 2015 for music fans everywhere. "Fell In the Sun" and "Lights On" are the lead key tracks at radio & digital/streaming services, with additional songs from the EP to follow- pre-order for the EP also begins tomorrow, September 10th.

BIG GRAMS marks Big Boi's first official release on Epic Records, since signing with the label last year.  Phantogram and Big Boi collaborated previously on a handful of tracks from Big Boi's second solo album, 2012's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, namely "CPU," "Lines" and "Objectum Sexuality," the latter also produced by Phantogram.  Phantogram have released multiple EP's and two studio albums, which have produced two Top 10 alternative hits, "Black Out Days" and "Fall In Love." The duo is signed to Republic Records.

BIG GRAMS TRACKLISTING:

1. Run for Your Life
2. Lights On
3. Fell In the Sun
4. Put It On Her
5. Goldmine Junkie
6.  Born to Shine f. Run the Jewels
7.  Drum Machine f. Skrillex

With the release of BIG GRAMS, this musical supergroup will just be getting started, with more exciting announcements and releases to follow including animated/graphic videos, surprise live performances, interactive games and special fan events...stay tuned for more details and follow Big Grams on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more - links below.

www.biggrams.com

twitter.com/biggrams

facebook.com/biggramsmusic

instagram.com/biggrams

www.epicrecords.com