As I made my way to the Cornerstone after a busy Wednesday night, my hopes for Phoneboy were high. I have been listening to the band for over two years now, with their upbeat alternative rock frequenting many of my playlists. After seeing them open for The Happy Fits in late November of last year, I was all too excited to see what their first headline tour would bring them. While I didn’t get there right when the doors opened, there was already a firm dedicated group at the barricade of the small venue, and a group of excited young adults ready to jam out the night.
Their opener, Breakup Shoes, started the night off with an amazing vibe that I would put in the same category as Peach Pit, another band with an indie-alternative feel that sounds like a drive along the coastline. Breakup Shoes drew the crowd in with an almost psychedelic like vibe with songs “Nicotine Dream” and “Brian Wilson is My Dad” and were the perfect band to accompany Phoneboy, and was a great unexpected surprise for me to discover a new band.
From songs from their original album Phoneboy like “Nevermind” (a personal favorite) and “1987” to songs from Moving Out like “Wasting Time” and “What a Coward” the band never failed to keep up with the energy of the crowd and have fans singing every song along with them. The whole night was filled with an expansive set of songs that never failed to amaze me when it came to the unconventional percussion of all the various rhythms or the riffs on the guitar that never seemed to falter no matter how complex or crazy.
Their guitarist & singer, Ricky Dana, was always moving around the stage, hyping up the crowd for whatever big moment was coming next within every song. And with it being guitarist & singer Wyn Barnum and bassist James Fusco’s hometown show, as both originate from the Bay Area, it was a good time all around. From a mid-set argument about how Ricky Dana (a New Jersey pizza snob) hated Zachary’s Pizza to how Berkeley meant so much to the band, (they spent a summer in the college city) it was a show that engaged the audience until the very end.
To wrap up the show, the encore was filled with the songs that are the ultimate defining songs of what I consider to be Phoneboy. “Hey, Kid!”, a song all about teenage rebellion and the expectations that are placed on you as a young adult started their encore out. Then came “Runaway”, my personal favorite from their new album, Moving Out, and is a song that feels like no other. To close out the night, they played their most iconic song- “Sweater Song” (the original song that drew me to the band). Their set was definitely one to remember, with all of their songs high enough energy to jam out to interspersed with some that mean a lot to the band. The night ended with the band staying out to meet every single one of the fans that had come to the concert, which was both a meaningful way to end a show and something I rarely see bands do anymore. It was a perfect way to close out an amazing concert with a conversation with the band about their music and what inspired them as a personal fan.
Overall, this concert was the perfect way to get me pumped through a mid-week slump, and it was an amazing time to see one of my favorite bands live. This was my second time seeing Phoneboy, and it definitely won’t be my last.
Article by Ashley Mauldin
Photos by Ashley Mauldin