Last night, playing in front of a sold out crowd at the 930 Club, Phosphorescent laid down a poignant, vibrant, and captivating show.
Matthew Houck, the sole member of Phosphorsecent, donned a cream white, eagle crested bolero jacket paired with a straw cowboy hat and glistened in front of the stage’s shimmering floor to ceiling metallic curtains. Backed by a seven person band, Houck pulled from his six albums to lay down a serious jam session set along the lines of the Allman Brother’s Jessica and Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir; one seriously got lost in the wonderous, free-flowing sounds Houck and his band created.
After eight songs as a band, including the popular Song for Zula, the show transitioned to Houck solo, and based on the stillness and silence of the 930 club, I believe Houck had all of us enraptured with his intensely emotional vocals and captivating, yet serene stage presence. For me, the two best songs of the night, Cocaine Lights and Wolves came in this section. I’ll admit that by the end of Wolves, I wanted to chime in with Houck on his cacophonous wolf howls, and I felt like others around me did as well, but we refrained.
For the final songs, the band returned and cranked out a stellar At Death, A Proclamation, where I swear Phosphorescent (and band) channeled Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and just threw the f#*k down. No encore necessary.
A born and bred New Yorker, Rebecca made the big trip “down south” to DC in 2006 and hasn’t looked back. She spends her days strategizing/planning/ideating how interactive products can help her clients and change the world. In her free time, she explores DC’s ever expanding bar, restaurant and small business scene, plays a crap ton of soccer, attends concerts that contribute to her sleep deprivation and embarks on local adventures. Read why Rebecca loves DC or follow her on twitter.
