On Tuesday night I was tired. Exhausted from a long day's work, beat from a trek to Cambridge, stifled from a warm pollen-riddle day. Yet, I couldn't help from dancing myself into a sweaty frenzy. The cure-all was over-the-counter, though you'd be better off finding it at Newbury Comics than CVS. Thanks to Foals I was back in business.
Foals is a British five-piece touring the country in support of their month-old album
Antidotes.
Antidotes is a powder keg of staccato fueled rhythmic tunes that evokes Bloc Party (minus the ballads, plus horns!) Being a big Bloc Party fan,
Antidotes quickly grew on me, and I was excited to see if Foals could 'bring it' the way Bloc Party has many times in the past.
Short answer: Yes they could.
Front man Yannis Philippakis and the band took the stage shortly after 11:00 to a crowd already buzzing from the excitement of a Celtics playoff win (check that, hipsters don't watch sports.) But they were buzzing, and it was quickly turned into a loud roar.
Foals opened with The French Open, which is the first, and one of my favorite, track from
Antidotes. My original concern was that this song, and a few others, would lack from the absence of live horns (provided by Antibalas on the album), but keys player Edwin Congreave was able to adequately reproduce them in a live setting (though I would say that this band with live horns would be unequivocally unbelievable.)
The rest of the hour plus long set was a blur in a good way, the band and crowd seeming to one-up each other in how much of a frenzy they could work themselves into.
Some highlights:
- It's no secret that Foals loves what they do. The interplay between Philippakis and guitarist Jimmy Smith was awesome to behold and there was not a dry shirt left in the Middle East Downstairs.
- Heavy Water and Two Steps Twice - Two songs that rely on epic crescendos both delivered extremely well live.
- Philippakis quipping, "This song's called Red Socks Pugie. If I were more cunning I'd say it is dedicated to the Red Sox, but the truth is, I have no idea what it's about."
- Balloons, which I think is their best overall song, was awesome. Not the best use of descriptive words, and I'm sure my journalism professors would not approve, but sometimes one word sums it all up. Awesome.
- Bassist Walter Gervers legitimately caring that the Celtics won.
- Philippakis' daunting run into the crowd mid-song. A great rock move, made a little bit dangerous by the fact that he had jumped right next to a man we had dubbed "Foals Superfan". He was giving off the vibe of being a male version of Mel from 'Flight of the Conchords' (Hey, Sub Pop records reference!) and it was getting a bit creepy.
- Cassius! This song should be everywhere by mid-summer. If you don't move to it, there's a chance you may not like music.
- Opener The Ruby Suns playing an intriguing set, with a whimsical, eerie sounding sound. I would definitely check them out again.
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--------------Foals:- Yannis Philippakis (vocals/guitar)
- Edwin Congreave (keyboards)
- Walter
Gervers (bass)
- Jimmy Smith (guitar)
- Jack Bevan (drums)
Check them out: Here
