What Went Down during Foals’ newborn tour lineup

KELLY KENNEDY | THE USD VISTA | ART DIRECTOR

On Sunday, April 17 The Observatory North Park hosted Foals, an English Indie rock band that hails from Oxford England. The venue sold out of tickets days before the band arrived to perform. The line stretched around the block that The Observatory occupies as people waited in line for up to 30 minutes to enter. The inside of the venue was filled wall to wall with attendees crowding as close to the stage as possible in order to get close to the vibrant aura of the five piece band.

Following their formation in 2005, Foals has put out five records, including their latest, What Went Down.

Interestingly, Foals used GoPro Spherical to film their most recent music video for the song “Mountain At My Gates”. Viewers can pan through the entire scene that the video was filmed in while they continue to play, allowing for a 360 view of the mountain scenery and the band members.

Their recent music ranges from softer, upbeat songs such as “Birch Tree,” to stronger indie jams such as the classic “My Number” and newer “Mountain At My Gates”. Both were featured at the beginning of their recent appearance in San Diego.

Foals’ musical style is comparable to Bombay Bicycle Club as well as Silversun Pickups, whom they will be joining for select shows during their current tour. Similar to Bear Hands, Cage the Elephant, Tame Impala, and others, the rhythm and intensity of their music increased as their setlist progressed, and the complexity of their sound developed through their melodic depth.

The crowd at The Observatory, dominated by a combination of mid-20s to late 40s attendees, reacted energetically to the mood progression as it transitioned from cheerful and smooth to a stronger, more alternative sound.

As the concert continued, the band’s disposition mirrored their musical tone as Foals’ frontman, Yannis Philippakis, was repeatedly removed from the crowd by security for jumping into the throng and crowd surfing.

Sophomore Richard Atnip expressed how impressed he was with this portion of the performance.

“The lead singer of Foals did two stage dives and the opening band had a saxophone solo, I definitely got my 20 bucks worth,” Atnip said. “Philippakis has a reputation for rambunctiousness on stage, as one security guard advised press in the photo pit, ‘Watch out, he will jump into the crowd and security will have to remove him.’”

Another Torero, sophomore Courtney Coddington, commented on her anticipation for the concert after seeing Foals in this year’s Coachella lineup.

“The concert was amazing,” Coddington said. “I saw they played at Coachella so I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect them to be that incredible. My favorite part was when the lead singer said, ‘San Diego you are absolutely splendid!’ in his posh British accent. Absolutely incredible. Five out of five stars.”

Foals’ current tour includes Coachella Weekend Two, Outside Lands, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and many smaller venues in addition to larger music festivals, both in the United States and abroad.

The band will continue to travel through October 2016, though there have been rumors that they may take a break to focus on their music following the completion of this tour.