FOALS // USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
FOALS KICK OFF THEIR ‘LIFE IS YOURS’ TOUR AT EDINBURGH’S USHER HALL
★★★★★ (5/5)
FOALS // USHER HALL, EDINBURGH - 21.04.2022
PHOTOCREDIT: CALUM BUCHAN
Foals are a band that have little left to prove at this point. It’s been nearly fifteen years since the Oxford now-trio’s jittery dance-punk debut ‘Antidotes’ shook up the Myspace generation and nearly ten since the band graduated to arena rock with seminal albums ‘Holy Fire’ and ‘What Went Down’. Despite this, Foals display little signs of fatigue and play still with the enthusiasm and energy of a band desperate to win over their audience.
Whilst the band has evolved in recent years, one thing of note concerning this two-night stint at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall is that it’s the first of Foal’s gigs as a three-piece, having lost keyboard player Edwin Congreave since their last touring cycle and bassist Walter Gervers before the release of their ambitious double album project ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’. This change is reflected in the music as new single ‘Wake Me Up’ boasts a straight-to-the-point, groove-laden sound; more direct than some of their usual progressive rock ambience. They display this front and centre as they open the show with it. The three members are positioned up front, with the live band relegated somewhat to the shadows at the back of the stage. The band use this new opportunity of stage space to shake up their production design. Almost every surface is a screen and one of the most encapsulating things about the performance is the seismic visual show going on in 3D around them; a different audio-visual experience created for each song. Foals are no stranger to elaborate stage design in their live shows, but this feels like it’s pushing the boundaries despite being relatively simple.
The set itself continues to feature heavy-hitting favourites such as ‘Mountain at My Gates’, ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Olympic Airways’. The widespread appeal of Foals can partially be attributed to their eclectic discography and the band, at this point, know how to structure the set to get the most out of their audience. Dancefloor bangers such as ‘In Degrees’ and ‘My Number’ get the crowd moving, a short period of respite is given during the lethargic ‘Late Night’ and ‘Spanish Sahara’ before injecting the crowd with the heavy riffage of ‘Providence’, ‘Inhaler’ and ‘What Went Down’, knowing very well that they may be instigating a mosh pit or two. The band show-off the power of their grooves by extending some of the jammier numbers, enabling singer-guitarist Yannis Philappakis to ascend into bouts of guitar heroism, somewhat presenting a fantasy daydream scenario where Jack White plays for Talking Heads.
It's a welcome return for Foals, a band who have outlived most of their peers and survived on the strength of their stellar live shows and engaging discography. The live preview of new tracks ‘Looking High’, ‘2AM’ and ‘2001’ suggest that they aren’t going to be moved off the top for quite some time still.
REVIEW // STRUAN NELSON
PHOTOS // CALUM BUCHAN
SETLIST
USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
WAKE ME UP
MOUNTAIN AT MY GATES
THE RUNNER
OLYMPIC ALWAY
LOOKING HIGH
MY NUMBER
BLACK GOLD
2AM
BIRCH TREE
IN DEGREES
2001
LATE NIGHT
SPANISH SAHARA
PROVIDENCE
INHALER
ENCORE:
BLACK BULL
WHAT WENT DOWN
TWO STEPS, TWICE
TOUR DATES
23RD APRIL 2022
BIRMINGHAM // UTILITA ARENA
25TH APRIL 2022
HULL // BONUS ARENA
26TH APRIL 2022
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE // O2 CITY HALL
27TH APRIL 2022
BRIGHTON // THE CENTRE
29TH APRIL 2022
LONDON // OLYMPIA
30TH APRIL 2022
LONDON // OLYMPIA
1ST MAY 2022
LONDON // OLYMPIA
2ND MAY 2022
LONDON // OLYMPIA
5TH MAY 2022
BLACKPOOL // EMPRESS BALLROOM
6TH MAY 2022
BLACKPOOL // EMPRESS BALLROOM
8TH MAY 2022
LONDON // O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY
29TH JUNE 2022
MANCHESTER // CASTLEFIELD BOWL
8TH JULY 2022
LEEDS // MILLENNIUM STAGE