Phantogram Gives Us A Glimpse Of New Material

August 22, 2019

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

May 22, 2018

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.

Words and Images Robert Castro

Scott Hansen aka Tycho (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Project Pabst Slays In Their Return To Denver | Review and Photos

May 23, 2017

Cheers to Project Pabst (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Last saturday, thanks to our friends at PBR, our favorite block on Larimer Street between 27th and 28th were barricaded for a day of thirst quenching beer and stellar music. Festival goers shuffled from two stages right in the heart of our beautiful city. Meadowlark, The Larimer Lounge, Cold Crush provided sets of both national, and local bands featuring Colfax Speed Queen, Flaural, The Knock, Felix Fast4ward, and Dragondeer. The crowd estimates were bigger than last year, leading to believe that this festival is here to stay.

With a cold, frosty PBR tallboy in hand we headed over to the first set. Twin Peaks set off the day with their high energy beachy, british rock sound. If Cage The Elephant and The Kinks had a baby out would come a fresh little Twin Peaks. The three front men traded off lead singing each song yet their vibe didn’t seem to alter between. Don’t see that every show!

The small but steadily growing day crowd was herded over to the opposite stage by badass female rocker duo, Deap Vally. We saw these ladies at SXSW and gah zamn, can they own a stage. “Smile More” and it’s hard grunge vibe had us teen angst head-banging in delight. One of our favorites of the day.

Considering Noname was a No Show, our local friends, Monteneros took over in place and it was no longer bummerville on the Lazer Horse Stage. The local boys saved the day with an exceptional cover of The Pixies “Gigantic”.

STRFKR hit us hard. Literally. Our crowd surfing astronaut made his way over to us and we may or may not have dropped his ass. With our beer soaked sneaks, we danced through our favorites and the lesser known rest. I think we were all a bit distracted by the hot dogs and pickles flying about. A rousing rendition of “While I’m Alive” set off confetti and inflatable penises and pizza. Yes we said penises and pizza, picture that for a moment.

Danny Brown slaying during Project Past ( Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Oh you wanted to mosh? Our boy Danny Brown had ya covered. Although much more subdued this time than his normal self, Brown still managed to encourage crowd sing-a-longs and participation with his tongue in cheek approach to his recognizable rap flow.

The festival was so great that we even had time to fit in a nap and a burrito during Kurt Vile’s set. The slow indie, melodies weren’t in the cards for us, maybe because we weren't stoned. The rest of the day was high energy and high spirits, that he didn’t quite mesh with the line up. Maybe we’ll catch ya at Coachella 2018, Kurt.

The always lovely Sarah Barthel of Phantogram (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The Phantogram team was in full force as Sarah Barthel and Josh “Fucking” Carter made the crowd sing and dance to their catchy hits and awesome display of showmanship. We even got a glimpse of Leroy (Sarah’s famous Instagram dog) on the side rocking out. Hits such as “Black Out Days”, “When I’m Small” and “Fall In Love” had us dancing with our neighbors in the crowd. Phantogram is currently on tour with Tycho so make sure you check them out at a city near you!

Legend Status (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

It’s one thing to see legendary performers, it’s another to get to see them in such an intimate setting. This was our second time seeing Ice Cube and while he didn’t bring out the members of NWA, he did manage to take us down memory lane with his recognizable street anthems. Ice Cube with his intimidating presence (although you may have lost a bit of that with the Are We There Yet? movies) and Westside hand gestures made everybody in the audience feel like a gangsta even if it was for a brief second.

Words by Kelly O'Keefe and Robert Castro

Crowd surfing on a pizza is on our bucket list (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

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

October 16, 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.

SOUND ON SOUND FEST LINEUP ANNOUNCED! PASSES ON SALE NOW!

June 28, 2016

We are proud to announce the lineup for the first edition of Sound On Sound Festival happening November 4, 5 and 6 at Sherwood Forest Faire, located minutes east from Austin. Yes, we're taking over a Ren Faire and throwing a 3 day long party. For real.

There will be performances by Beach House, Explosions In The Sky, Phantogram, Run The Jewels, Big Boi, Purity Ring, Descendents, Courtney Barnett, Death Grips, Young Thug, Mac Demarco and many more!

Full shuttle, transportation and camping options coming in the following weeks, so keep an eye here and on our socials for more info. 3 Day, VIP and Camping passes are on sale now at soundonsoundfest.com

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

September 9, 2015

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