by Matt Kelchner

Early on in their night, PHOX lead singer Monica Martin kept catching herself giggling in between songs. After a third or fourth round of doing so, she finally explained to the crowd that she couldn’t help laughing at herself and her band singing the heartbreak-fueled songs off their self-titled debut album the night before Valentine’s Day. The Wisconsin natives ripped through a set full of fan favorites, B-sides and covers that wowed the faithful crowd that ventured out on the chilly Friday night to Union Transfer. Fellow Badger State natives Field Report opened.

Since their last headlining show at Boot and Saddle, a lot of buzz has risen around PHOX. And while they are no strangers to admit that it’s been a bumpy ride getting used to the limelight, Friday night showed no signs of such woes. The confidence was radiating off Martin whether it was mid song or as she was sharing personal story after personal story. Yes, there was the occasional mishap, but it only showed the fans that even after the late night show performances and nationwide touring, they too are only human.

Field Report came out to a stage filled with instruments scattered everywhere. The three piece situated themselves amongst the mess as they kicked off the night. Singer/guitarist and bandleader Chris Porterfield did not hold back from expressing his love for Philadelphia.

Field Report (all photos by Matt Kelchner)

Last year saw the release of their sophomore effort, Marigold, and they used Friday night to share with the crowd some of the best cuts from the album. Tracks like “Decision Day” and “Home (Leave The Lights On)” showcased Porterfield’s strength as a songwriter as well as his ability to get the crowd warmed up. “I’m seeing a little dancing and a little moving tonight. That doesn’t happen at a Field Report show,” he muttered in between songs.

It’s always a challenging seeing bands headline major tours with only a small collection of songs under the belt. PHOX only have one full length album and a handful of EPs so far, but they filled the night as if they had been around for years. They mixed in favorites both old and new. On top of that, they treated the crowd to a number of beautifully done covers. Hands down the cutest moment of the night was a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” that featured the members of both PHOX and Field Report, as well local musical friends of PHOX along with their family. The tune was lead by the family’s youngest member, Oliver Wolf, who was just barely old enough to walk.

Early on in the night, the six members that make up PHOX gathered around one microphone to play a series of songs the way they were initially written in the living room the group’s shared house in Madison, WI. One of the highlights was the stripped down version of “1936”, which featured layers of different string instruments normally not present. When they weren’t all huddled together, they broke off into their typical arrangements to play hits like “Slow Motion” (which received one of the loudest cheers from the audience) or the rarely heard B-side from their debut album, Never Lover. Thrown into the mix was a laughter-filled cover “1612” from one of singer Martin’s favorite local bands Vulfpeck.

Monica Martin of PHOX

Before getting into one of the last songs of the night, “Noble Heart”, Martin explained that the band is not into the idea of doing encores. Instead, after the song was finished, she was going to run off to drink a cup full of cough syrup. During her break, the remaining members of the band played a short interlude. The final round of songs were started with Martin performing “Calico Man” solo followed by a duet with bassist Jason Krunnfusz of The Thrills, “Not For All The Love In The World”. Keyboardist Matt Roberts then joined them for another cover, this time of another local artist from Wisconsin. For the true final song of the night, the full band came on “Espeon”, a track off their self released EP Confetti.

The evening came to close with a roar from the audience as the band said their goodbyes. In a short amount of time PHOX have been catapulted into the national spotlight and if Friday night was any indicator of things to come, they will be staying there for quite some time.