Yelo music monger Marty Reynolds shrugged off some post-festivity fatigue and headed to see one of his fave bands of all time, Foals, at The Fortitude Music Hall. The British rock lads were here for Secret Sounds, a two-day festival from January 2-3.
Amid the lingering echoes of New Years’ revelry, and armed with the remnants of a seasonal sniffle and post-holiday hangover, I arrived late, missing Declan McKenna’s set, but landing in front of the stage just in time to immerse myself in the anticipatory buzz preceding British rock lawds themselves – Foals.
I had grabbed a last-minute hotel in the city, because this ol’ Woodford boy was not driving home, and I’m so glad I did. It meant I could expend every last fragment of my lethargy, solely on the legends I was soon to witness, and tip my sorry carcass straight back into bed in due course.
But despite feeling rather under the weather, nothing could dampen my spirits – not even the sticky floors or interminable wait for beverages. After all, I was there to see the band that has soundtracked the better part of my last seven years.
Walking through my old stomping ground, of which I’ve seen many an awesome act pass through, I was inundated with some pretty colourful memories, as my chucks navigated their own way across the booze-soaked mezzanine.
The smell of die-hard pit sweat wafted over the punters, combined with the occasional hit of someone’s rancid, latest vape juice flavour.
Fuck, I needed a drink, stat.
Despite the bar line being six-people deep of thirsty beer gobblers – which, to be fair, never seemed to move – I was filled with that visceral build-up of excitement that you can only get right before the band of your dreams is about to play live.
Foals is the band for me that never gets old. I’ve been a fan from the start; around when their “What Went Down” album was released.
They had me hooked from day one, and thankfully with the likes of Triple J also showing their appreciation – spinning Foals tracks on high rotation for the next few years – the band quickly garnered a loyal Aussie following.
The ever-charismatic frontman Yannis Philippakis was a force of nature – his vocals not just on-point but imbued with a raw, emotional power that resonated throughout the venue.
The band’s interaction with the audience went beyond the standard fare; as Philippakis worked the photo-pit happy-snappers, igniting a fervent response from the crowd, and creating an electric atmosphere that’s become a rarity in live shows.
Philippakis – never once off by a milli-meter – was so on-point vocally throughout the entirety of the performance, and a healthy surge of pro-level fans thought so too, eager to get as close to their Oxford-god as possible.
He even had the entirety of the crowd down on the knee to experience “Inhaler”; a level I would imagine most haven’t experienced before, both physically and emotionally.
Put simply, they slayed.
From the first chord of “Wake Me Up” to their last, “Two Steps, Twice”, I didn’t look away.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the live music presence of Foals, then I only have one short piece of advice for my fellow alt-loving brethern – WTF have you been waiting for!?
Main feature photo: Bianca Holderness.
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