It was the luck of the ballot draw which enabled us to purchase tickets for this intimate gig at Village Underground, London. In the application for tix it was very clearly stated this was a no phones event and anyone taking pics or filming would be ejected from venue. (I don't have a problem with this at all. If we need shots get a press pass for Ken!)
It's not the 1st time we have been lucky enough to catch Foals at a small venue in recent years. At a trip to 60 Million Postcards in Bournemouth a couple of years ago I declared my days of getting close to Foals were over such was the sweaty mess that ensued that night! So there we were, at the barrier, for what was going to be a memorable gig. The audience looked quite calm with a larger amount of female interest than I would have thought. I was wondering when the surge of males would come flying forward!
Support came in the form of That F#cking Tank, guitar/drums duo from Leeds kicking out some thumping tunes 65 Days of Static'esque or PSB without the newsreel! It was enough to give some interest while waiting for the main event. Everything was set at 9pm and Foals didn't delay too long before taking the stage to huge cheers and as they ripped into Snake Oil BOOM the crowd erupted! The Village Underground turned into one mad mosh pit. (I have now taken a safe spot at the side, still nursing a bruised shin from Girl Band last week!)
They probably played more old tunes than I thought they would, thinking this would be a showcase for mostly new songs, but this delighted the crowd, the room was dripping with the energy expended throughout Olympic Airways and My Number.
Time for a slight breather with new tune Mountain At My Gate highlighting the band's incline and how tight they are as a unit. Best moment of the gig came when at the opening of Spanish Sahara a few bods sat down and quickly everyone in the room joined in, singing along but totally idolising the band at their feet, it was breathtaking as the song reached its rocking crescendo with everyone back on their feet in the maelstrom.
The best thing about this moment was everybody was feeling it and nobody was filming it. Front man Yannis raised his fist to the crowd and pumped towards his heart. I really think he felt it too. The set carried on in that vein, peppered with the softer tune A Knife in the Ocean showing this band can touch your soul as well as tear up the floor. Yannis declared the end was nigh, but not before a rip roaring encore including Inhaler and Two Steps and a sortie around the venue with his guitar followed by a crowd surf, held aloft by adoring fan's hands.
An incredible show, FOALS are a fantastic band with so much style to their diversity is it dance, math or indie rock.
I knew we had to be quick off the mark to secure tix for their Southampton show on pre-sale last week I was not wrong the nationwide tour sold out in 5 minutes!
Sally @sally_wally
New Album 'What Went Down' is released on New Music Friday 28 August, 2015
