07/02 Fleet Foxes Show @ Mohawk

Do you believe the hype? I’m not sure the band even believes the hype coming their way: “How are so many people here?” Believe it or not, Fleet Foxes played to a sold out crowd at Mohawk in Austin last Wednesday night and I can’t say I recall anyone selling out the Mohawk recently. The band’s name has recently spread like wildfire across the internet and music world, giving them a whole mess of new fans as evidenced by the mass of people at Mohawk.

Getting a 9.0 out of 10 from Pitchfork and being tabbed as Best New Music can’t hurt either. So, you out in that internet world want to know: “Should we really jump on board with another pitchfork hyped band that might not know the first thing about touring and playing live?” Being one of those people who has fallen victim to jumping on the band wagon in the past (see Tapes n Tapes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, etc.), I can honestly say to you disbelievers that the hype is real. All the praise is deserved and I look for this band to really make some noise in the years to come.

Fleet Foxes pull off vocal beauty that close to no one in the music world nowadays can recreate. Those insane vocal harmonies that you hear on their self titled debut are for real and somehow sound even better live. Each song featured those reverb laden 4 part harmonies along with the right amount of acoustic & electric guitars, bass, & the right amount of electric piano/organ. The comparisons to CSNY hold true but I’m not so sure about the MMJ comparisons. (I can’t recall MMJ doing 4 part harmonies like this). Highlights of the evening were single “White Winter Hymnal” (which caused a rumbling in the crowd for the not so hardcore fans), “He Doesn’t Know Why” & the acoustic encore “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”. The melodies & hypnotic tone of this band fit perfectly in that happy place right before sun down with a cold high life in your hand. I really can’t say enough about this show and words won’t do it too much justice. You really just gotta be there folks. I suggest you make a point to see Fleet Foxes if they make a stop in your town. Believe the hype!

In other news: The bands set was cut a little short for the crowds liking (only 1 song in the encore?). Are we safe to assume this is because of the new sound ordinance during the week?

The beautiful pictures were provided by our very talented photographer Jonathon Edwards. Visit him on MySpace.

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