Foals

Mindblowing. Asskicking. No holds barred. Take no prisoners. These are the words that come to mind when I think about a Foals show.

The first time I saw Foals was only after I had just listened to their song, "Spanish Sahara". Just that one song and my mind was made up. I needed to see them. Turns out that one song was merely a comma in the string of punctuations this band is capable of creating. That song is probably the tamest one they played, and I couldn't be more grateful.

A strobe light show starts off their performance to the band members entering one by one. Then lead singer Yannis Phillippakis takes the stage, his signature black Travis Bean guitar in hand. He had a wireless setup for that guitar - a tipoff that I immediately recognized. This show was about to get insane.

They ran through a few of their hits from their first album, "Mathletics", such as "Red Socks Pugie", and "Cassius". The crowd was in absolute hysterics. Ebbing and flowing with the music, people crowd surfing and ramming into each other. The song progressed into songs off their sophomore release, "Total Life Forever", where they played "Blue Blood", the aforementioned "Spanish Sahara", and the amped-up "Two Steps, Twice".

Then mayhem. Yannis runs top speed and propels himself into the crowd (who were miraculously ready and caught him). All the while, Yannis continues playing his guitar. What happened next was a thing of beauty. Somehow, Yannis makes his way to the side of the venue and proceeds to climb up to the balcony level, and again, launches himself off into the crowd. In all my years, I've never seen someone with such a low fear of death or injury.

Since this first performance I've seen Foals a number of times and they never disappoint. Even when they were added as a last minute addition to fill in for a band that canceled for Governor's Ball 2013, they managed to win over everyone at the festival, some saying they were the highlight of the entire event. Easily one of the best live acts I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Without a doubt, I have never danced, jumped, and sweat so much than when I am at a Foals show. Do yourself a favor, drop any plans you might have and go see Foals. Well worth it.

Foals are one of those bands that for me get better and better with each album ‎release. I’d not seen them perform live before last year’s Leeds festival where I ‎absolutely delighted to catch them as the ‘surprise act’. ‎

Therefore when the tickets were announced for the First Direct arena in Leeds with ‎support from Everything Everything it was a no brainer to buy them. ‎

Everything Everything gave a great performance with Jonathan Higgs’s vocals ‎fitting of a large arena. Thanks to a strong setlist the audience was fully engaged ‎and set up the stage perfectly for Foals. ‎

Foals opened with Snake Oil quickly building momentum and then maintaining it ‎with Olympic Airways and My Number. Foals did a great job of mixing in some ‎slower tracks and then whipping the crowd into a frenzy by following them up with a ‎more upbeat track, this was done to perfection when Inhaler bellowed out and ‎rounded off the pre-encore set following Late Night and A Knife in the Ocean. ‎

The stage lighting effects brilliantly added to the show throughout being at their best ‎when Foals boomed out Providence.‎

Foals first encore track was London Thunder, the crowd watched on mesmerised ‎before we were sent into chaos bouncing and singing along to What Went Down ‎before Foals closed brilliantly with Two Steps, Twice.‎

Foals stepped up another level on Saturday with their performance on the arena ‎stage and it was evident why they are winning awards, filling arenas and ‎headlining festivals.‎

Many people would argue that Foals are the most exciting British guitar band currently working to date. Though this may be a bold claim, the strength of the band's latest LP 'Holy Fire' paired with the passion and aggression of their live show could be considered a more than sufficient amount of evidence.

I was incredibly lucky to see the 'Holy Fire' tour three times, and it is a show of ultimate contrasts and a level of fan dedication I have never seen before. The crowds are moshing and jumping by the introduction of instrumental number 'Prelude' and energy levels simply increase from here. The whole crowd is a swirling mess during 'Olympic Airways' as they scream 'RE-A-PPE-AR' in time with the incredible frontman Yannis Philippakis. 'My Number' evokes yet more singalong before they bring even more momentous guitar riffs for 'Providence' as Yannis launches himself into his loyal followers to carry him whilst still picking his trusty guitar strings. The venue mellows for a moment as they play the spanning, cinematic 'Spanish Sahara' which is emotionally devastating when performed live.

The cathartic, anthemic atmosphere is indescribable as the whole audience stand awaiting the recognisable melody of 'Inhaler'. It is startling to consider Foals have only released three albums as they are fast approaching legendary status.

Foals’ ‘Holy Fire’ album tour was most aptly named indeed: Foals were so on fire, they brought the house down. Foals’ latest album has been an incredible success for the indie, alternative rock band. Having only formed in 2005, the band has gone from height to height during their short but powerful career. They have now established themselves as one of the most popular indie rock bands in Britain, amassing a huge fan base during this time. Indeed, their show was packed out with young hipsters, students and teens all crowded excitedly to watch the indie fivesome perform live. They did not disappoint. Yannis Philippakis led the band through a great show, his unique voclas capturing the crowd and Jack Bevan’s superb drumming skills working the crowd up into a frenzy with his powerful motions. Foals are so phenomenal because they succeed in blending a mix of genres, combining new wave influences with minimalist soundscapes. They are a perfect blend of techno, new wave, indie and alternative rock. Songs such as ‘My Number’, which ended the night on a brilliant high and with many excited cheers, ‘Everytime’ and ‘Bad Habit’ are all extremely catchy works of pure musical genius.

I was really pleased to get tickets for this gig - the price was amazing and to receive the album as part of the price was the icing on the cake!

I was also excited by the prospect of such an intimate gig, with the 1800 person capacity. The band were fantastic as ever!!

Having said that, the venue was really disappointing, with extremely limited views due to the amount of club-themed paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling and lots of pillars which restricted most views of the stage.

It was also awkward to travel to Kingston from East London where I work, and it was equally difficult to get from the venue to Chesham at the end of the Met line where I live.

Overall I had a great time, it was just a shame about the venue and the location.

"Spring Fling" was a awesome assortment for everyone!
The line up was excellent, and The Foals shined brightly!
The venue doesn't have the best sound, it's an empty old Armoury, steel and concrete, with hardwood floors, but the price for 4 bands, especially this line up is way worth it!
Mountain At My Gate, was and is one of the best, they didn't miss a note and listening on my phone will be a guilty pleasure even way after the show!

If you get the chance, check them out.
This line up was by far the best I've seen in a smaller venue, Cage the Elephant, Silversun Pickups, The Foals, and Bear Hands! For under $40!!!!

All serious musicians, great music good times! Crowd was a varied age group, I brought my 14yr old and had a great time!

El concierto fue increíble, la energía de la banda y de Yannis contagió a todos los asistentes generando un ambiente muy agradable que permitió disfrutar el concierto al máximo. La voz de Yannis en vivo es espectacular.

Cantaron 13 canciones pero aun así nunca serán suficientes dado los buenos que son. Vas a quedar con ganas de más y sentirás que el tiempo paso volando.

Setlist:
Snake Oil
Olympic Airways
My Number
Mountain at my gates
Ballons
Give it all
Providence
Spanish Sahara
Red Sox
Late night
Inhaler
Hummer
What went down
Two steps, twice

Fantastic Foals - what a way to spend a Sunday afternoon, in the company of Yannis and co.
Played Everything Not Saved part 1 in its entirety, gave us a couple of extra treats and a preview of a track from Part 2, black bull. No bull only brilliant music from a band that are on fire.
Matinee performance, great to see young Foals fans there. Well managed entry, Fat Sams a good venue. Can’t wait for them to come around again. Dundee really is the capital of cool after hosting two gigs in one day by this might band.

What can I say about Foals other than they are fantastic! I've seen them 3 times and they are definitely one of my most favourite bands.

Their music is electrifying, the laser light show amazing and Yannis, as expected, did his crowd surfing.

Most of the songs were from their most recent album "What Went Down" but there were also other songs from the previous wonderful "Holy Fire" album as well as a track from an earlier album.

The crowd seemed to relish every song - a truly enjoyable gig in every sense.

Saw them first at Glastonbury a few years back but spent so much time trying to survive the mosh pit didn't know what I felt about the band. Thursday nights performance in Kingston really sorted out any uncertainty I had. One of the best live acts I have seen and an incredibly generous performance with new and old tracks. They played longer than expected so we were totally spoilt for our £11 tickets.