The first time I saw these English indie rockers I had no idea who they were. I was there for the openers and didn't really understand all of the excitement, even after the show. My interest was peaked when they released this video. Almost two years later to the day, I found myself in a second chance situation, where I was helpless to have anything less than high standards.
I was a little disappointed to see the Electric Factory in it's scaled down version. I mean, what's the point of going from headlining the TLA to the Electric Factory if you're expecting the same turnout? (I have no idea if this is actually true, as I'm terrible at estimating crowd sizes.)
After already being a little annoyed that the barricade was pushed so close to the stage that it was difficult to even move around myself, let alone around other photographers, Foals had to go and play my favorite song, "Inhaler," within the first three songs, AKA the photo limit. Why would that be annoying? I'll tell ya. I don't really take the time to enjoy the first three songs. I'm too busy thinking about my next shot, and making sure I get enough shots before I get kicked out. I guess I just assumed it would make for a killer encore...
Regardless, I can safely say that I now get it. Foals are fucking awesome live. Bottom line. It just took a catchy song and funky video to get me here. Highlights were, of course, "Inhaler," despite the lack of attention that it deserved on my part, "Spanish Sahara," and closing the set with "Electric Bloom."
I should note that I had to leave before the three song encore, which I'm sure was just as fantastic as the rest of the set.
Setlist according to setlist.fm: Prelude / Inhaler / Balloons / Bad Habit / Milk & Black Spiders / Spanish Sahara / Red Sox Pugie / Late Night / Providence / Electric Bloom / ENCORE / Stepson / My Number / Two Steps Twice
Blondfire and Surfer Blood opened the show. I only managed to come away with a few shots of Surfer Blood. See all photos below.
SURFER BLOOD
