A Night with PHASES

There was one phrase going through everyone’s mind last night at the Lyric Theater in Los Angeles…

“I’m in love with my life.”

Last night PHASES took the stage and brought a dance party to the small venue in Hollywood.  You may have heard PHASES on the radio with their hit song “I’m In Love With My Life” which is both catchy and groovy, giving a bit of a disco feel to modern pop music.  PHASES is kind of a new band.  As in this is the first band the current four members are in together that have released an album.  The best part about PHASES is that the musicians in this group have all had past projects in the music industry.  First off we have Z Berg who can sing as great as she looks.  Her most popular music project was the girl band The Like.  We also have Michael Runion on the team who has been more of a solo artist through his career, but has collaborated with many musicians.  Then there’s Jason Boesel who was the drummer for Rilo Kiley and also created tunes with Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band.  Last but definitely not least is Alex Greenwald who was the singer of Phantom Planet and he also was in the movie Donnie Darko (yes, he was the bully!) The group has been friends for quite some time and have played music together in a group called JJAMZ, but they came back together now to create PHASES and we love them.

It was my first time at The Lyric and it was the size I was expecting it to be.  There was a small bar in the corner, but most of the room was for the audience to dance along to the band performing on the stage.  The band Buckaroo opened as people started to fill in the sold out show.  While people were getting settled, I took a look around and noticed that the popular drink item of the night was a PBR in a brown bag.  Is this some sort of new hipster thing happening?  Was the brown bag supposed to help keep your hands warm from the cold beer?  I’m not sure but I thought it was funny.

When PHASES took the stage, the audience was more than ready.  I wasn’t sure what to expect at their live show since I’d never seen them before.  Was it going to be as good as the recordings?

Yes. Answer is yes.

I was amazed how great this band was live.  They all knew what they were doing and you could tell that they had been playing together for a long time.  Even though this band is newer and their album was released just a WEEK AGO TODAY, the audience knew the words to the songs.  They played almost their whole album including the tracks Betty Blue, I’m In Love With My Life, Vertigo, Spark, and even threw in a Duran Duran cover.  They ended the show with my favorite song, Cooler.  Apparently it’s everybody elses favorite song too (duh) because everyone danced and sang at the top of their lungs.  I love going to concerts like this one because the fan base may be small, but they love the band!  The band was excited too that everyone knew the words and that they sold out the venue in their hometown.

Make sure to pick up your copy of For Life on iTunes or wherever you buy your music!