Show Review: Foals @ Emo’s (4/27)

It was a wet evening in Austin on Saturday, but no one was letting a little rain keep them away from the Foals show at Emo’s East. Many folks may have still been sticking around at Psych Fest so this may have been a show more for those not attending the festival. Judging from the sold out crowd and positive vibes in the venue, the show delivered on the top name billing.

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From the get go, this seemed like kind of an odd billing to everyone I was in attendance with. All great bands on their own, but sort of a strange trio if you ask me. I guess that’s what happens when you move on to a major label? First up was Blondfire playing opener to the opener. They had a few good hits here and there I suppose. If you closed your eyes, you could probably call them a Metric cover band and be pretty spot on. Just a little too “cookie cutter” pop-rock for my tastes. Tight live band, not really my thing.

Next up was personal favorite on the bill Surfer Blood. These guys have really grown into their skin as rock n rollers. Now having seen them on 5-6 different occasions, it’s clear that they’ve become tighter and louder as they’ve grown older. New songs tend to have a bit of an Interpol vibe mixed in with the loud distorted guitars of old. Of course we got “Swim” towards the end of set which might be one of the greatest indie rock songs of the last several years. Great set.

Now what most were in attendance for, Foals. From the very first song, you knew these UK boys weren’t going to let some silly Americans from Florida show them up. No, they blasted into several of their heavier numbers to show everyone in the crowd that they could rock just as hard if needed. It was a blistering set leaving the band rarely coming up for air long enough to swoon the audience with a tune like “Spanish Sahara”. We certainly got an encore with the band performing latest and greatest new single “My Number” much to the delight of the audience. All in all, incredible performance from a band that continue to grow their fame the right way.

Other show notes: The crowd was surprisingly respectful most the show. Very few phones out, minimal show talkers, etc. Maybe people are starting to listen to us? Also, I still just feel wrong calling this new venue Emo’s. It’s not Emo’s. Not even close. If anything, it’s like Music Hall with Emo’s written on the door. I miss being afraid to wear open toed shoes in the bathroom…

More pics at the photo site…