LIVE REVIEW: Foals @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Foals are certainly a band which go way beyond expectations for a live show....
The Enmore Theatre is always a pleasant venue to visit. FOALS, who I was about to see perform tonight for the sixth time, even rate it as one of the best in the world.
Every time you enter this particular building, you know you're always in for an unforgettable experience. This review I decided to write, not because I scored a free ticket (I paid full price and can show you my receipt), but simply because I love the music Foals produce.
Alpine began the proceedings after they just completed an almost never ending touring schedule overseas. Before they emerged on stage, a somewhat empty dance floor converted itself into a full one and the excitement of the room was starting to build up. “This is much more packed than last night”, vocalist Lou James told the eager audience.
They opened their set with 'Lovers 1' and intertwined it with 'Lovers 2', which features the familiar lyrics of “Take my lies and tear them in parts”. At this point it was clear that Alpine are a lot heavier in a live setting than they sound on record and they were certainly well chosen as the support slot.
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“We just have to get warmed up”, James informs the crowd before continuing their set with 'Hands'. Following this song she expressed, “It's been too damn long, we've missed you so, so much”. A couple more tunes or so and they finished off with 'Gasoline', which I'm pretty sure anyone with a heart could dance along to.
Now it was time for Foals, the band youngsters were waiting for out the front two hours before doors opened. The introduction definitely gave the crowd loads of energy and featured throbbing electronic sounds, before possibly my favourite track off Holy Fire began, 'Prelude'.
“Last night was one of our favourite shows in recent memories”, lead singer Yannis Philippakis told the crowd. The classic tune 'Olympic Airways' followed, one which they apparently didn't play in their set the night before. It was a nice surprise and was definitely well appreciated by many fans, including myself. The high point of a Foals live show is their ability to create a dance and rock atmosphere simultaneously. This was demonstrated effectively through newer tracks such as 'My Number', 'Late Night', which saw guitarist Jimmy Smith switch to keyboards and 'Providence', where Yannis crowd surfed with his guitar, before somehow making his way back to the stage in time for their third 'encore riff'.
'Spanish Sahara' then proved that it can played not just as the chilled song we know it as and showcased quite an intense rock finale. 'Electric Bloom' completed their set, with 'Inhaler' and 'Two Steps, Twice' making up the encore, in which many people standing underneath the grandstand were wondering if Yannis was actually going to jump into the crowd from ten metres above. Thankfully he didn't.
Foals are certainly a band which go way beyond expectations for a live show. They push the boundaries and do whatever they can to provide an amazing performance and people love them for it. It's a pity these sort of musicians are hard to find these days. It was without a doubt a job well done and left many people with smiles on their faces upon leaving the venue on the Sunday night.
Words by Tony Kingston
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