Landon Williams | Staff Reporter

The club scene is the place where all bands are born into and where most bands die. It often seems like a black hole where even the most talented artists fight for shreds of recognition among never-ending ticket sales and poorly promoted events.

Although, in some rare cases, particular artist’s club shows feel like a gift. Attending these shows feel like getting an all-access, VIP pass into a movement that you were lucky enough to catch before everyone else did. Phangs’ performance at the Curtain Club felt exactly like that.

Phangs is the brainchild of producer/songwriter Jake Germany. He is currently on tour supporting the release of his latest album, Happy Season.

He is based out of Nashville, Tenn. but originally is from Dallas. I’m not sure if a sort of hometown reminiscence played a part in his spectacular performance at the Curtain Club, but one thing is definitely for certain.

Do. Not. Miss. This. Tour.

Germany is a seasoned performer and knows exactly what he is doing. He can expertly lead the crowd, control the stage, and set the mood like no other. His natural tendencies make you feel like you are a part of the performance, and his movements onstage feel like second nature reactions to his true emotions. It was truly surprising how much energy the show contained. I’ve seen bands with half-a-dozen members struggle to keep the audience interested, but Phangs keeps every eye in the club set on him from the beginning of the show to the end.

Phangs’ only member is Germany, but he is joined onstage by other musicians when he performs. On this particular tour, the show consisted of just him and a drummer. His stage set up is fairly simple, but that’s because he doesn’t need much to entertain the crowd. The equipment he needs to perform is just a laptop, a small keyboard, and a drum set. That’s it. This simple recipe is the perfect mixture for a genuine, high-intensity performance that leaves you wishing for multiple encores.

He makes sure to take advantage of all the space he has onstage. The lack of extra members gives Germany the perfect opportunity to jump around, glide from one side of the stage to the other, and express himself in diverse ways.

After the show, he stayed as long as necessary to meet the audience that made the show possible. He made it completely clear that he is wholeheartedly invested in his fanbase. I believe that an artist’s actions offstage are just as important as what they do onstage. When it comes to Phangs, he has both sides of the coin covered.