Photos by Will Oliver
Phantom Planet has been gone for some time, not having released a new studio album since 2008’s Raise The Dead. With that said, it was a long time since Phantom Planet performed live, particularly in New York. I never got my chance to see them perform live back in the day, which made their return to New York at the intimate Elsewhere Rooftop on September 18th a can’t miss event.
The band has recently returned with some new material (most recently “Party Animal”), hinting that a new album is probably in the works. Their performance at September 18th wasn’t just to test out some new material but to bring their live show back to life and reconnect with their fans who have been patiently awaiting their return.
The Elsewhere performance featured no opener (not counting a DJ set from Sunflower Bean before the show) but just Phantom Planet. The band’s frontman and lead singer/guitarist Alex Greenwald realized that it had been so long since they played New York that he had to ask the crowd to figure out how long it had been (11 years, apparently). This made the performance a special occasion, especially to see the band on a rooftop in such close quarters.
Along with the live debut of “Party Animal” and other new track “Love Letter to a Dead End Street” the band ran through expected old favorites like “California” (of course, the track that introduced me to the band as a teenager) and “Do the Panic” the band gave fans a few chances to choose between selected deep cuts, with “The Local Black and Red,” “The Galleria” and “Lonely Day.”
Greenwald ended the show with a crowdsurf during the finale of “Big Brat,” the saw him go out towards the back of the crowd, climb a bit of the bar area where a shot was waiting for him. Seeing a stage dive and surf was not high on my list of expectations from a Phantom Planet, which made it such a pleasant part of a such a great show that was an appropriate sendoff to summer as I could think of.
Find a full gallery of photos from their Elsewhere Rooftop performance posted below, along with the setlist.
Phantom Planet setlist:
1. By The Bed
2. Always On My Mind
3. 1st Things 1st
4. Balisong
5. Turn Smile Shift Repeat
6. Do the Panic
7. Ship Lost at Sea
8. Knowitall
9. Party Animal
10. The Local Black and Red
11. Lonely Day
12. Geronimo
Encore:
13. Love Letter to a Dead End Street
14. The Galleria
15. California
16. Big Brat
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