Wellington Opera House 17/11/2007

On Saturday night The Phoenix Foundation played at the Opera House in Wellington as part of their Happy Ending tour. Because of the recent success from their newly released album ‘Happy Ending’ I was excepting another great show from the Wellington lads who seldom disappoint.

Opening with Gandalf, from their new album, started things off on a smooth note, which was a sign of things to come, as they played (as one would expect) a lot of songs from the album they were touring on. The set was a good mix of songs that spread the range of all their albums, which kept those who have been long time supporters of the band pleased. Although their new album may have softer tones, their live show really opens up wide variety and opportunity to highlight the ambience which makes this band so compelling. For a large part of the show they produced some intriguing ambient music through the use of progressive style arrangements and vocal effects. This was what saved the concert for me, as the seemingly forced on stage wit in the first few quarters of the show really showed the popularity that this band had come to.

The Opera House is a beautiful venue, and it was a bit of a shame they didn’t take full advantage of the area in terms of the lighting show. In the past we had seen projected footage and lasers, but this time all we were treated to was some humorous twirling stars.

The encore featuring ‘Hitchcock’ and ‘Sister Risk’ were the signature songs that many new had to come. Overall this concert wasn’t the best I had seen The Phoenix Foundation, but this band is still a band I like to see again and again and will do in the future.

Craig Johnson