Phantogram at the Masonic: A Sonic Ritual Before Their Tour with Deftones and IDLES

San Francisco doesn’t usually traffic in goth-glam-electro-rock bliss on a Wednesday night, but when Phantogram comes to town, the ordinary dissolves. Playing to a packed house at the elegant and under appreciated Masonic Auditorium, the duo delivered a visceral, cinematic set that only further cemented their reputation as masters of mood and sound.

It was a surprising location for a show so unapologetically moody and raw: across the street from the surreal grandeur of Grace Cathedral and just a stone’s throw from the Pacific Union Club—old-school power-broker territory. Inside the Masonic, the Diego Rivera mural that looms across the lobby walls sets the tone: artful, mythic, quietly revolutionary. It’s a venue that feels too clean, too smooth, too luxurious for rock; and yet, Phantogram made it feel like the only place on Earth that could contain their cinematic sprawl.

Opening the night was Open Mike Eagle, whose self-described “trauma bops” sounded like the fever dreams of a stand-up comic moonlighting as a freestyle poet. His minimalistic beats and surreal lyricism evoked the energy of artists like Zack Fox, lacing humor with grief and memory. With just a DJ and 808s at his back, he worked the stage with charisma, bouncing between comedy and confession. Unexpected? Yes. But indulgent in the best way.

Phantogram, though, were the real draw. The band, Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, have a knack for transforming performance into ritual. Opening with “Jealousy,” they set the tone with a track that feels like it was written for exactly this moment: late-night neon shadows, smoke machines whispering across the stage, Barthel’s voice cutting through like a signal flare.

From there, they tore through a career-spanning set: the hypnotic urgency of “Don’t Move,” the seductive melancholia of “Fall in Love,” the cathartic builds of “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “Black Out Days.” “Let Me Down” and “You Are the Ocean” were standout moments, letting Barthel’s vocals ache and soar, grounded in Josh Carter’s rich, riff-laden guitar work.

Barthel moved through the set with a kind of tour-worn elegance, the kind of momentum bands only develop when they’re deep into a run of good shows. Her vocals were razor sharp, her presence commanding but intimate. In a room full of people, it still felt like she was singing just to you.

The lighting design leaned heavily into their signature palette: red washes, ice blue strobes, and bursts of white floodlights that gave each beat drop its own punctuation mark. It was a set designed for the shadows, a sonic and visual experience that would have fallen flat in broad daylight; something I can confirm, having once seen them at Bottlerock under an unforgiving sun. At the Masonic, however, they thrived.

As the show closed with the euphoric pulse of “Come Alive,” it was clear Phantogram wasn’t here to revisit their hits. They were reshaping them, owning them, and preparing for their next evolution. And that next chapter? It starts this fall.

Phantogram will join Deftones on a co-headlining tour across North America, kicking off in Vancouver on August 22. With a lineup that includes UK punk disruptors IDLES and metalcore upstarts The Barbarians of California, it’s shaping up to be one of the most eclectic and anticipated tours of the year. Whether you’re there for the mosh or the melancholia, Phantogram is ready to meet you in the middle.

Catch them soon, or regret it until the next lunar cycle.

Deftones with Phantogram & The Barbarians Of California:

08/22 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
08/24 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
08/25 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
08/27 Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
08/29 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
08/30 Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
09/01 Buffalo, NY – Key Bank Center
09/07 Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron