Phantom Planet revives small crowd with wit, cover songs

Originally published as an online exclusive April 07, 2008 for The Orion.
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Los Angeles' Phantom Planet swept a small crowd off its feet with an intimate set and incomparable charm Sunday night at the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium.

The night got off to a slow start with Chico's People of the Oaks and Anaheim's Takota.

People of the Oaks, one of Chico's newest bands, played to a crowd of about 60, with half of the people sitting on the ground. The all-star band, with members of West By Swan, Birds of Fire and Casing the Promisedland, tried to entice the audience with fuzzy guitars and poignant vocals but had little luck.

"You Got Me" received the most interest with fast, tight drumming and guitar buildups. But vocalist Ryan Prado's attempt to combine a nostalgic feeling with a pinching, nasal effect, brought back memories of dismal pop punk bands popular earlier in the decade.

Band members vigorously moved around the stage, but they seemed as disinterested as the audience. In between songs, Prado talked with his back to the crowd.

Takota made its Chico debut with an array of sleek, piano driven and anthemic pop rock songs.

The six-piece dove into a mellow love song as soon as vocalist Grant Arnow mentioned Chico's reputation of parties and beautiful women. He pointed at a few women in the front row and serenaded them with silky vocals.

Arnow asked audience members to pump their fists in the air during the band's most rock-powered song. Loud guitars and pounding drums gave Arnow confidence as he boastfully sung the chorus and raised his hands in praise.

By the time Takota finished its set, the crowd doubled and anticipation grew for the indie rock sounds of Phantom Planet.

The members of Phantom Planet left the pretentious attitudes of Los Angeles musicians at home and modestly walked on stage with matching jeans and black sweatshirts.

The band quickly went into a track from its forthcoming album "Raise the Dead" and lifted the spirits of stiff audience members. Band members' peppy smiles were contagious.

Phantom Planet followed with two tracks from its earlier records and the animated motions of vocalist and guitarist Alex Greenwald inspired audience members to dance along. During "1st Things 1st," Greenwald turned from side to side, as if he was having an engaging conversation with a group of people.

In between songs he appealed to the audience with humorous tour stories and carefree attitude.

After the fourth song, Greenwald announced that the band was going to take requests, claiming members no longer write set lists.

"Request any song that has been written by this band," he said, a statement that would later not be observed.

Long-time fans asked for songs from early Phantom Planet albums, but instead the band fulfilled a request for the newer song, "Do the Panic."

The band was out to please everyone and continued its set with two older songs.

After "Last Glance," guitarist Darren Robinson took time to replace a broken string and Greenwald took advantage of the time to make sure the audience was having a good time. He asked people to show their excitement by doing the wave.

One audience member was feeling the music so much that he shouted out "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Phantom Planet lightheartedly took the statement as a request and played the grungy Nirvana track.

The spirit of cover songs caught on and another audience member requested "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and the band had no problem playing it. The songs were big audience pleasers and brought laughs between the band and crowd.

"We're not a joke band," Greenwald said.

The night was far from ending as the Phantom Planet played a track from its new album and the band's biggest hit and "The O.C." theme song, "California."

The band was about to end with the mellow track "Anthem," but at the last minute band members had a request of their own.

Phantom Planet played one more cover and ended with Radiohead's "Paranoid Andriod." Greenwald closely matched Thom Yorke's somber vocals and the audience looked mesmerized.

Freshman Megan Tansey, who has been a fan of the band for six years, enjoyed requesting songs and asked for "Big Brat," which the band did play, she said. She wished more people had seen the band's spontaneous set.

Phantom Planet made the best of the small crowd and showed the good spirits and professionalism of a rehearsed, veteran band.