Phantogram at The Cellar Door, Visalia, June 4, 2010

This was a busy night for me. I attended the Honors Convocation at CSUB, which lasted until 8 and then I drove across-town to a colleagues dinner party. I stayed about an hour and then around 9:30, we left for Visalia -- a small town about an hour and 20 minutes away to the North. By the time we entered The Cellar Door, Phantogram had just started playing.


They sample and layer keyboards around guitar riffs to create shoegazey but bumpin' tracks. Their sound removes the edges; their craft is simply the creation of art. Both Josh and Sarah own the vocals just as they both control the Korg Kaos Pads (I think that's its name). After the show, I asked Sarah if I could take pictures of their equipment. She agreed enthusiastically.



After the show, we also hung out for a while talking to Josh. He told us they had been roadtripping the country in a van for almost 2 1/2 months, beginning in their hometown, Saratoga Springs, New York. It was their first time touring in California.








The night before, they played at the Henry Miller Museum in Big Sur (I would have loved to see that show). He said the museum and the coastal Highway 1 drive were both pretty awesome. They were continuing south to LA to open for XX at the sold out Henry Fonda Theatre. The next night they were going to be at the historic Wiltern. At one point in the conversation, he removed a Super Ball from his pocket and began bouncing it off a downtown gentrified wall.


















Check out their live performance of Running From the Cops on KEXP's morning show.



[Special thanks to Brooke for introducing me to this band. Your musical sensibilities continue to amaze me -- you should consider writing a local column (or blog) about music you find interesting. Britt, you're announcement/declaration to Josh made for an interesting conversation. You should have interviewed him on camera.]