Indie Boy

MGMT or Foals? Quite an easy choice for me, and having asked my friends who went to MGMT, a well chosen one. We missed most of Cut Off Your Hands, to my friend’s dismay, who had only been there for them. From the two songs we heard outside (Still Fond to Expectations) and then You and I from inside, they did a good job. Sweating everywhere, they went off to a quiet crowd, which is unfortunate for such a great band.

Having never really go into them, the Friendly Fires did come on and put on an impressive show. I enjoyed nearly all their songs, highlights were In The Hospitol and their amazing jam at the end with their famous single Paris. It was stunning to watch as the bass player put down his bass and started playing the amazing cow bell section for the whole song. Friendly Fires proved that they are a great band , not perhaps enough to buy their album, but they put on a fanastic live set, with furious amounts of energy, perhaps only being shadowed by the mighty Foals themselves.

Walking through the crowd, and brushing past me, they came on to huge amounts of cheers and whistling. Walter, the bassist, took a swig of beer from a nearby ticket holder. Jack started it off with an amazing amount of percussion work as the band started to increase in tempo and in volume. It soon became just lots of high pitched noises which started to become unbearable, until the release into Two Steps, Twice. Whenever he got the chance, Yannis was bobbing, weaving and dancing about with the rest of the band. Perfect musicians, they did not falter once.  Moving into Olympic Airways without stop, they managed to persaude my friend, that is was not so bad that had missed Cut Off Your Hands. Today he stands a Foal convert. With racusious enthusiasm, the crowd was screaming along with Yannis; “Dis-A-Ppear!”  The songs kept coming and the crowd was hungry. Hanging on Yannis’ every word, the crowd shouted requests throughout, all which seemed to be fufilled.

Half way through Jimmy (pictured above left), jumped onto the pillar, clambered two meters up and banged his guitar for distorion, right above us! Jumping down he dropped his guitar. Hummer, the crowd pleaser, started and it seemed Yannis’ mike had broken. Then it became obvious, the crowd was just singing louder than his amp could go. Red Socks Pugie came on (a song which has been negelected by me of late) and it instantly made me fall in love again. The drum beat was amazing, as were the lyrics, the rise and then the quite fall to nothingness. Yannis took a trip to the bathroom, through the crowd, and with his guitar. Even songs which I didn’t really enjoy on the album, Big Big Love (Fig. 2) and Electric Bloom, were incredable. Perhaps the best live show I have ever witnessed, actually no, Foals’ polyrymthic rock, Friendly Fires’ cowbell and Cut Off Your Hands’ power pop made it the best gig I have ever been too.

See more photos here

Watch the end of their concert from the next night (two steps, twice), in great quality, here.

Buy; Foals, Friendly Fires, Cut Off Your Hands