Foals, Queen's Social Club

Foals on stage @ Queens Social Club

Only at Queens Social Club could there be pensioners playing bingo in one room and math rock legends Foals tearing the roof off in the next. Tickets had sold out minutes after they went on sale, luckily I managed to bag one on ebay for £24 at the last minute (the perks of having nothing to do at work except stare at a computer screen). The modest venue was filled to the rafters with fans eager to hear tracks from Foals' forthcoming LP, their first in 3 years. The stage was adorned with foil decorations which wouldn't be out of place at a village Christmas fete. The keen sense of anticipation in the crowd was palpable, and when the band took to the stage for opener 'Pavlov' followed by 'Total Life Forever' the place went off.

Blasting through a set of hits from 'Antidotes' and 'Total Life Forever', Yannis and co were as energetic as ever, climbing up the speaker stacks and crashing around the stage with the enthusiasm of a band at the top of their game. They are clearly still riding high on the popularity of their last release, successfully avoiding 'difficult second album' cliches, and with the band poised to release their third album in February it feels as if they have undoubtedly established their place in British music.

With such a long gap between releases, new songs were obviously something fans in the crowd were looking forward to. Tracks like 'Pavlov', 'Inhaler' and 'My Number' didn't disappoint. Foals have grown up and with them so has their sound; fuzzier riffs, heavier rhythms and howling vocals. But beneath this new grungier exterior they've retained the intricate melodic guitars and catchy beats which defined their earlier sound. New track 'Cleaver' felt a bit off the mark for me, (Yannis described it as 'a bit psychobilly'), it felt more like a novelty song than a ground-breaker. Hopefully this not an indication of the direction 'Holy Fire' is taking the band; more tracks like the fantastic 'Inhaler' and they'll be on to a winner. 

'After Glow' 'Red Socks Pugie' and 'Spanish Sahara' went down a storm, and although fan favourites 'Cassius' and 'Hummer' were left out of the set, they weren't missed. As we chanted for more, the band sheepishly admitted other new material wasn't quite up to scratch, and instead gave us an encore of 'The French Open', 'Inhaler' and a phenomenal rendition of 'Two Steps Twice' which saw Yannis leap into the crowd and run round the tiny room, guitar in hand, being gratefully embraced by his loyal followers. 

It was a night I won't forget for a long time; seeing a band like Foals evolve into the musicians they are today is impressive. The set was almost a collection of their 'Greatest Hits'; a reward for the long-standing fans who the band were so happy to see again, and the unique intimacy of the venue added to the feeling that this was something special. I can't wait to catch them again in 2013 and will be frantically searching the internet for bootlegs of 'Holy Fire' until then.

Wednesday 28th November @  Queens Social Club