It was their first headlining show I've seen. I invited my friend Marie along who had never heard of them before. She listened to Total Life Forever in advance and enjoyed it, but after the gig she exclaimed "they're one of those bands who are better live!"
I'm generally not moved by music enough to dance at concerts. I could not stop. Singer/guitarist Yannis Philippakis and guitarist Jimmy Smith (the only two band members I could really see), were so engaged and moved by what they were playing, it was impossible not to feel it too. Most of my neighbours were rocking out wildly without regard to the lack of space surrounding them. Somehow, for the first time, I didn't mind.
As per the Coachella gig, Yannis ended up crowd surfing, and to my delight, doing a lap around the venue with his guitar. Stage antics are always great, especially when it involves interacting with the crowd. Banter was minimal. One thing that surprised me was that they were allowed to smoke on stage. And no one seemed to mind fetching Yannis's mic stand after he repeatedly tossed it off stage, and slammed it into the stage with vigour.
I enjoyed middle act Surfer Blood's set. I had been gifted their album Astrocoast by Emilia ages ago, but never took much notice of it. They looked about 15, but singer John Paul Pitts' impressive vocal range was commendable. I am very much looking forward to further exploring their music.
Overall great gig. Omit the opening act Blondfire, whose sound was tediously bland.
*It should also be mentioned that FOALS have beautifully designed merch. It's worth a gander.
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