Foals March 24, Brooklyn Bowl.
Foals’ March 24 show at Brooklyn Bowl reminded me of how I felt about going to concerts when I was a kid. That’s not to say that Foals reignited my teenage passion for live music, where a band’s every sound and gesture felt new and unique. (Though they didn’t do too badly on that front; see below.) Rather, it was a night big enough to center my month—a month with several other live shows in it, vying for my full attention. Years ago, before I reviewed live music performances as part of my job, a concert was a full-blown event, with an giddily anticipatory before and a euphoric, contemplative after. Foals plays it big enough to kick those feelings out.
Opening with note-perfect performances of recent dance-rock single “On The Luna” and 2015’s “Mountain at My Gates,” Foals displayed a high level of energy and enthusiasm that never wavered. Singer/lead guitarist Yannis Philippakis and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith shook and shimmied pretty much constantly, and Philippakis took several trips into the crowd—first strolling through the photo pit, then walking atop the bannister separating the bowling lanes from the main floor, and finally hurling himself into the crowd during a fevered “What Went Down.” Their set drew generously across their entire catalog, from their 2008 debut Antidotes (“Olympic Airways,” “Red Socks Pugie”) to new LP Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 (“White Onions,” “Exits”), and a packed house joyously devoured every note of it.
My high point of the night, however, is also my favorite song in the band's arsenal: the headbanging anthem “Inhaler.” Its bridge is pure, ascending tension, and its chorus is one simple word: “Space,” which Philippakis dutifully launches into orbit: "I can't get enough/Spaaaaaaaaaaace." Somewhere in the midst of that guitar-fueled takeoff I spotted my 17-year-old self on the other side of the flames, and I waved at him. As long as Foals is around to facilitate these kinds of reunions, I’ll show up—and I’ll spend the week before in breathless anticipation of something great.
