This is what you want; this is what you get instead.

Sometimes I'll really be into a band and hope they'd come play a show soon, but don't. And when they do, the timing has passed and I'm not so eager to go see them live any more. What can I say? I'm 18-34, fickle and urban. But I've also seen so many shows that I won't even go to a weekday or Sunday show unless I really like the band. And don't even mention all-ages shows unless Lagwagon is headlining.

So I won't go out on a Tuesday night for just any band, but I will for Phoenix since I've been listening to Alphabetical almost on daily basis for the last year or so. And I'm glad I did since it was easily one of the best shows I've ever seen.

What made it so good? Everything. The vocals, the lyrics, the tight rythm section, the crisp drums, my fancy new earplugs, the enthusiastic crowd, how genuinely appreciative they were of the crowd, the fact it was their first time in Vancouver, how much better the live version of Too Young sounds, the singer's pronunciation of the word "says", the extended 7 min version of their best song "If I Ever Feel Better" with added "Owner of a Lonely Heart" riff near the end, the 2nd acoustic version of Everything is Everything during the encore, how great the 2 new songs they played were, everything.

There's only a few more dates on this tour before they go back into the studio, go see them. Or pick up their new new live cd recorded during their European tour last year.