Foals is one of those bands that has always been there for me. Do you have those bands, too? Like, they’ve just been with you for as long as you can remember—seemingly your entire life. I vividly remember listening to Total Life Forever on the beach in middle school. Spring break 2012 was dominated by Holy Fire. It seems like they’ve been around Seattle forever, too, as they did their first KEXP in-studio performance eight years ago. Their first record, Antidotes, actually came out on Sub Pop, and peep this vintage KEXP performance I found:
Luckily for us, they’ll be making a return to Seattle this Friday, September 23rd when they headline the Paramount Theatre. If you managed to make it through the late 2000s without hearing them, there’s no way you managed to avoid them in the early 2010s. With three studio records since 2008’s Antidotes, their music has steadily risen, coming to their current peak in 2016 with the single “Mountain at My Gates” from their latest record, What Went Down, flying up the charts. This was all in due time, as they’re just so talented. I just sit in awe of how incredible they are when I watch live videos of them, most notably their cover of Mark Ronson’s “Daffodils” for Triple J’s Like a Version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0DAx7DalQ4
Despite listening to Foals for almost half of my life at this point, I’ve never seen them live. Just video after video on YouTube, sitting in my room, wishing I could see it in person. This is all going to change this Friday, though, as I get to see them play at The legendary Paramount on September 23. Opening for them is none other than Bear Hands and Kiev, and it’s going to be beautiful. Bear Hands’ latest record came out in May, and I’d suggest everyone to give it a listen, as it is just as crafty as it is catchy. As for Kiev, I’m super excited to catch them because I’ve been seeing their name pop up to open for a lot of my favorite bands, but have yet to actually see them with my own eyes. Tickets are still available here for this show; be sure to be there.
ANNA KAPLAN | Internet Grill | KXSU Music Reporter