What can we say about Phoenix? They were wonderful last year, and their second trip to D.C. upheld that high standing. A small but enthusiastic crowd greeted the four boys of Phoenix, joined for the performance by an incredibly impressive drummer and a new keyboardist (filling in while their normal man on keys tends to his newborn). Touring to promote their new album, It’s Never Been Like That (out in stores May 23), the band played a satisfying mix of old and new, making the most of their poppy, decade-blending brand of rock throughout the show.

“Les Mains en l’air, s’il vous plait.” When he wasn’t giving the audience French lessons, Thomas Mars’ charmed the crowd with vocals that are so sweet and strong, they smooth the edges off of every offering, even darker songs like “Funky Squaredance.” (Yes, a song named “Funky Squaredance” is dark, at least comparatively so.) Phoenix soared through an extra long, suped up live version of “If I Ever Feel Better,” and treated the audience to two separate versions of “Everything Is Everything” (one full band kick ass take, and one acoustic revisit in the encore) — which almost made up for them not playing their best song, “Too Young.” (Which many of you may know from the Lost In Translation soundtrack.) Aside from his aforementioned vocal skills, Mars lead the band with a humbled appreciation for the crowd. He looked almost embarassed as each song finished and he took in the crowd’s squeals and applause, detracting nothing from the charm factor. The band even missed the introduction to one song due to the volume of the cheers coming from the under-capacity crowd. It served up a pleasant side of warm fuzzies to go with the main course of danceable rock n roll.