Live: Foals

The Governor Hindmarsh - Sat Jul 24
An eerie atmosphere descended upon the Governor Hindmarsh as devoted fans and industry big wigs alike waited in earnest for the Australian live debut from English indie saviours Foals. Suffice to say, no one was left disappointed.

    Adelaide never saw it coming. Foals never saw it coming. The net result of two unstoppable forces colliding with each other was felt at The Governor Hindmarsh tonight, with neither party relenting to the extreme inertia presented by the other. Foals, with their brilliant second album Total Life Forever tucked under their arms and a back catalogue of spine-tingling indie classics, and Adelaide’s irrepressible community of music devotees smashed into each leaving a rubble of battered, bruised and sweaty bodies in the trail of destruction.

    Taking to the stage after a forgettable rendition of contrived pop-folk yarns from ‘up-and-comers’ Gypsy & The Cat, Foals made good on their Australian live debut from the moment the first beat of Total Life Forever echoed out of Jack Bevan’s kick drum. The Oxford five-piece meant business, putting any remnants of jet lag and tour fatigue to one side while they redeemed themselves to a crowd of angsty indie types frustrated by the lack of Foals love in the country up until this point.

    The title track from their new album led nicely into the frantic dance floor antics of Cassius before settling into the cool groove of Miami. Frontman Yannis Philippakis looked every bit the part as his bushy head swayed to and fro to his band’s bouncy mathematical rock. Flanked by the larger framed guitarist Jimmy Smith, the pair made an impressive onstage dichotomy, Smith playing the overbearing henchman to Philippakis’ relaxed mob boss demeanour.

    Foals’ set comprised of everything their starved fans could have hoped for, drawing a perfect dividing line between the structured mayhem of debut album Antidotes and the strained melodics of Total Life Forever. The hits came and went - Balloons, Red Socks Pugie, Blue Blood - all dealt with equal resect from both band and crowd. A surprising roar evolved for black sheep Spanish Sahara, instilling Foals as one of the brightest and most intelligent bands on the indie circuit.

    Ominously, the venue curators did not feel it necessary to set up the crowd barricade tonight, allowing fans to get within reaching distance of their heroes. By the end of the set, things had descended into chaos. The front-of-stage crush was reduced to a tired mass of sweat-soaked bodies still wilfully bouncing along to the beats. Philippakis tempted fate as he swung violently from the lighting rig during a marathon closing track. The band’s departure was met with an old familiar chant of “one step, two step” from the crowd.

    Wasting little time getting back on stage for their encore, Foals blitzed through fan favourite The French Open before appeasing the masses with cult classic Two Steps, Twice.

    They came, they saw, they ripped the fucking place apart. Foals’ appearance tonight made a poignant statement about live music in this city. Yes, we can attract sell-out crowds for non-commercial indie bands, yes we can make the experience memorable, no we don’t need to be barricaded from the front of the stage – it will actually be alright in the end. Hopefully tonight’s epic performance will attract artists of a similar ilk to Adelaide because according to a little birdy at tonight’s gig, it won’t be long before Foals return for more of the same treatment.

Words & pic: Jimmy Bollard

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