LIVE REVIEW: Phantogram in Portland, ME (09.08.25)
“I’ll dance until there’s nothing left. I come alive.” And come alive, Phantogram did during the entire hour and 15-minute set at State Theatre in Portland on a magical Monday night.
The breathless yet commanding “Funeral Pyre” started things off with a surge, fluxing forward with a desperate optimism and flashing “lights… in the sky.” “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” kicked in hard with a raging riff that fans were very familiar with. Lead singer Sarah Barthel, gliding around the stage, drove home the punchy declaration and matched the bombastic beats.
Guitarist, producer, multi-mega-musician Josh Carter jumped over to the loop pad for the seductive “Fall In Love.” The airy lightness of Barthel’s voice blending and rising above the beat drops for a sensual soundscape that made the crowd swoon.
“Feedback Invisible” had Carter start on vocals, followed by Barthel’s brighter notes, until they combined in a harmony fit for best friend shit. A little funkier beat for them, they merged their signature darkadelic, twinkly melody with an upbeat, danceable drum line.
Continuing the love for 2016’s heavy hitter, Three, “You’re Mine” continued the playful, alternating vocals over boxy bass and sexy drops. Barthel’s vocals adding a tantalizing trill on the chorus for just a little something extra.
New song from last year’s Memory of A Day, “It Wasn’t Meant to Be,” slowed things down a tad with a keyboard-heavy, glitchy trip pulse that called for dreams. Parading on, the in-your-face “Same Old Blues” caressed with gentle vocals before crushing down with a massive drop. Carter kept the clapping going while charging on to a fleeting end.
The “downers” of the set “Attaway” and “Answer” showcased a softer side to the electronic pop duo. The former, an auditory and sensory washout that relaxed the scene in a haze of harmony and delicate coos. The latter, a heartstring-pulling, nostalgia-inducing ballad of feeling lost and bewildered in a slow burn and build.
One of their oldest songs, “Don’t Move,” got a huge reaction the instant the first snippets sounded out, and kept everyone shake, shaking throughout. In the same melodic vein, “Ashes” lulled in a dreamy shoegaze that moved the shaking to swaying. Carter broke away for a churning guitar solo while Barthel’s vocals swirled higher, highlighting their crystalline top form.
Despondent “Happy Again” kept things sad and beautiful with wispy words and shimmering guitar. The trippy “In A Spiral” had Barthel twirling and spinning around the stage in a fury while the instrumentals melded in a sonic delirium.
Ones for minimal words and maximum music, Barthel called out, “Mondays!” in astonishment at the lively crowd before coming in alone on keys for the hauntingly cinematic “Cruel World.” The explosive and distinctively hooky “Black Out Days” ended the main set with a bang before fading to black, with lots of layers and trills hyping everyone up before soothing them down and leaving them wanting more.
Amongst a sea of screams, they reclaimed the stage, with Barthel exclaiming, “Jesus Christ, Portland! Jesus Christ. I’ll speak for myself, Josh, but I don’t think we’ve had a show like this for seven years. I don’t know what to say except you changed my life tonight.” And well deserved and much awaited was the headline show for many Portland fans in attendance who probably last got to see them two years ago as an opener for Queens of the Stone Age*.
Starting the encore with the vivid and bright “Come Alive,” they didn’t stop moving and lighting up the stage, slinking and sliding across the floor to the hopeful melody. Finishing off with another of their oldest songs, “When I’m Small,” focused on their evolution as a band and how much they’ve grown over the last 15 years, but also how much a catchy song can still hold up over time.
The set was a perfect culmination of their strongest tracks throughout their career, in almost a best-of tape put on live display. Featuring a multilayered wall of noise and sonic flashbangs with high and lows in just the right places to keep the feeling fluid, Phantogram is ones to catch whenever they come around.
*(Author’s note: Portland fans have been waiting for another headline from Phantogram for at least eight years, since the 2017 show scheduled for Thompson’s Point was canceled. I couldn’t find any other time they properly headlined Portland, but they played two Maine college shows at Bates in 2010 and Bowdoin in 2012. And also opened for Queens of the Stone Age in 2023).
Featured image by: Tim Saccenti
