One of the many things I love so much about Foals is that their two albums, Antidotes and this year’s Total Life Forever, are both fantastic, but completely different in tone. While the first was an exercise in high-energy danceable tunes with clean and tight guitar melodies, the second was more of the softer side of Foals, with 6-minute growing epics and dance tunes alike, but with a sound not quite as recognizable as it was in their first album. So I was looking forward to seeing these two worlds collide in their live show.

I didn’t know what to expect from openers Esben and the Witch, but even if I had any expectations, I’m fairly sure I still would have been surprised. I’d say Esben and the Witch is a great combination of the old and new world. The melodies were haunting and tribal and subtle, but were then laid over completely modern electronic beats, most of which were made via loop pedals and guitar effects, that often came out of nowhere. It was a great contrast to hear these two themes going on at the same time and I can’t say it’s something I’ve ever heard before. I dug.

Esben and the Witch – About This Peninsula

Foals began their set perfectly with the latest album’s title track “Total Life Forever”, a song that’s not too hard but that still gets the crowd into the mood and followed it up with “Olympic Airways” to let everyone know that they weren’t messing around. Lead singer Yannis Philippakis was not intimidated after a wipeout on stage and later into the set walked through the crowd out onto the patio, re-entering through another door atop a small staircase and, rather than taking the normal route back to the stage, climbed atop the large speakers and returned to the front of the room that way. He mentioned that the group would be crossing the border that night and would be bowling downstairs after the show and would be looking to get rid of their weed before crossing, to which the crowd cheered, but I was unable to verify if anyone took them up on the offer. The energy only increased as the set went on and the crowd responded appropriately with each buildup the band gave and it all reached a pinnacle with “Spanish Sahara”. The crowd was almost silent (maybe a first for the Magic Stick) as the quiet intro began, but as everyone knew what was coming up, the energy was palpable with each buildup, the crowd clapping and screaming along with Yannis before the big release. One of my favorite concert moments in a long time.

The group closed out the night with a non-stop barrage of in your face classic Foals madness that resulted in a last minute mosh pit and some crowdsurfers (my lack of interest in such was a great reminder of how old I’m getting) with the triple threat of “The French Open”, “Cassius” and “Two Steps, Twice”, during which Yannis again climbed the other tower of speakers, this time with guitar in tow (as shown in the last picture below), before a graceful Olympic style dismount using a bar suspended from the ceiling. Two friends of mine who weren’t too familiar with the band came to the show as well and both left pleasantly surprised. See these guys when given the opportunity. The Magic Stick, while a great place to see a show, is a grim venue for picture taking, so hopefully my description gave you all you needed to know.

The Hood Internet – Shutterbug in Miami (Big Boi vs. Foals)

Foals – This Orient (Silver Columns Remix)