You know you’re aging when you start feeling vaguely pedophiliac
in the crowd of a rock show. I experienced that feeling this
Sunday, when Phantom Planet played at the Gargoyle on Washington
University’s campus.

High school-aged girls from all the different counties clamored
into the tiny venue in their best indie-wear from of American Eagle
and Abercombie and Fitch, hoping that Phantom Planet lead singer
Alex Greenwald would sing a song just for them.

The older portion of the audience appeared to come not for
Phantom Planet, but for opening act Ben Lee. Their garb was a tad
more subdued, but still reeking of vintage clothing stores and
creative tearing–this is still the Wash. U. campus, mind you. And,
of course, there was Beatle Bob.

This older crowd blended well, surrounded by the foliage of
trucker hats and multi-colored, graphic T-shirts. Still, when Lee
entered the stage, they lost their camouflage as they cheered above
the chatter of indifference from the larger portion of the
crowd.

Lee began with “Run,” a bouncy pop tune that woke up the
audience and got them bobbing their heads. He kept this going with
“Running with Scissors,” which had a more flushed-out sound and
feeling than even the album could offer. The pace slowed a bit when
Lee switched from the bass he had been playing to an old, beat-up
guitar for a blues rendition of “Dirty Mind.” Throughout the
concert, the material from his latest album, Hey You, Yes You,
changed dramatically, taking a stripped-down feeling, rather than
the deejay sound on the album.

The shining moments came when Lee played older material that the
audience seemed to know a little better. Lee played a solo version
of “Daisy” off one of his obscure early albums after a fan from the
crowd called for it.

Even though he said he hadn’t played it in years, he didn’t skip
a beat, playing it word for word. The audience was entranced. Lee
then dug deep into his catalog to play “Pop Queen,” a song he wrote
and recorded over eight years ago (he’s only 24, for those keeping
track). Blistering with energy, Lee bounded around the stage,
driving the audience into a fervor. The set ended with the driving
“Ship My Body Home,” which ended with one member of the band
playing guitar and hitting the foot-drum as the other played
keyboard and pounded the snare. I think he scored a few new fans
that night.

Phantom Planet didn’t jump out of the gate as well as Lee did.
In fact, it wasn’t until well into the fifth song or so that things
started to get interesting.

Yes, the band members were jumping around the stage and trying
to get the audience excited, but it all seemed so hackneyed, so
postured. Greenwald did end up playing to the ladies, asking the
crowd if they knew any place he could sleep that night. The ladies
ate it up, of course.

Slowly, though, the band picked up momentum. The songs had more
feeling, more punch to them, as the show went along. I even found
myself nodding along near the end. Greenwald also seemed to sense
the buildup, as his antics got more excited.

At one point, he jumped out into the crowd and surfed along as
he sang along with the band perfectly; obviously, he has done that
before.

Just as things really started to bump along, the band suddenly
stopped playing and walked off the stage, waiting patiently for the
crowd to cheer them back for the encore.

Granted, the encore has become something of convention for the
headlining act, but at least feign the fact that you might not come
back out. Well, they did eventually come back out to play their big
hit, “California,” in which they did a good job, and their current
single, “Big Brat.”

Greenwald jumped on the speakers and hung from the low-hanging
rafters, but he couldn’t salvage the fact that the band played a
set even shorter than Lee’s.