What Went Down at the SU?

for fans of: The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, Everything Everything, Bloc Party

In selecting a name, Foals did themselves an injustice. Such as namesake suggests that they are meek and mild baby horses waiting to graze on success, yet, in reality, they are stallions galloping to the forefront of British music. To an extent, this is achieved through beautifully cogitated albums that mediate between geeky wackiness and swooping trance rock, however it is their live shows which set them far apart from their modern contemporaries.

Although they're set to sell out arenas throughout the UK in 2016 (and probably headline a few festivals while they're at it), Foals' most recent tour saw them territorising intimate venues across the country - including the University of Bristol's Student Union (like, is this real life? Foals are playing at my uni?!???). It was a weekend of epic proportions for the SU, with their Anson Rooms hosting two of the country's hottest live acts - Slaves shut it down on Saturday with Foals following suit on Sunday.

photo creds: here today

The tour is in support of their fourth studio album What Went Down - their most emphatic to date. Part of Foals' brilliance is their ability to craft four albums that, on the surface, are noticeably very different yet are all distinctly very Foals - they have their own intricately woven narratives, their own quirks, their own variation on sounds, yet it's easy to exclaim "yes! That's Foals!" in each respective era. It's been a gradual progression from the irrepressible vitality of 2008's Antidotes to the blizzardly intensity of their latest effort that have enabled Foals to shapeshift into one of the world's most intoxicating live acts.

It was of little surprise that the Bristol leg of their tour was nothing short of a spectacle. However, from the strike of the first chord of Snake Oil, things look initially unpromising. While the band instantly got into their element among the robotic guitars and febrile percussion, the crowd's response was lukewarm. A swell of panic swallowed the room - is this really what the show would be like? While Foals trotted thunderously onstage, the audience would just... bop? Luckily, as Snake Oil trickled into the emblematic opening of indie anthem Mountain At My Gates the tables turned and the circus was in town. The surge in enthusiasm created one of the most elated moments in the set and it became clear that, although they cherish the recent gems from What Went Down, Foals fans love one thing: familiarity.

photo creds: the guardian

Throughout the gig, the Anson Rooms perspired with sweat and passion in equal measure, exuding from both the stage and those who worshiped beneath it. From the disco bop of My Number; to the trance-inspired, shoulder-climbing rock of Spanish Sahara; and the fiery outbursts from frontman Yannis Phillipakis, booming "FUCK THE TORIES" to an explosion of cheers - anything thrown out there by the Oxford band was met with ardor. Foals fans experience something along the lines of idoltary for this band and their unique stream of thrashing guitar magnetism.

In a triumphant encore, Foals reentered the stage to deafening applause - which could've been way rowdier if not for the fatigue and breathlessness deep in the pits. They begun their final juncture onstage with delicate ballad London Thunder. Expressing the band's ambidexterity for the gracefully tender and the roaring epic, they launched into the incitement of their new era - What Went Down, whose blustering guitar rock could've caved the roof in, as limbs flew wall to wall and shoes soared off of feet. Terminating the hysteria with Two Steps, Twice, Phillipakis dives into the bodies and fully immerses himself in the success and undying devotion that the group have worked so hard to cement. Here's to another year of triumph for them.

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GIG REVIEW: The Cribs - O2 Academy Bristol, 25th October

for fans of: The Courteeners, The Enemy, The Libertines

the cribs at glasto earlier this year
(photo creds: nme)

Despite playing to a noticeably under-capacity venue, Wakefield trio The Cribs luxuriated their place on the Bristol stage. Constantly telling the sweating bodies of the O2 Academy that this was the best show they've ever played in the city, they failed to crack a smile, but nonetheless succeeded in delivering their trademark dynamic garage rock. What the Jarman brothers - Gary, Ross and Ryan, complete with their Beatles-inspired drum skin - lacked in crowd connection and a special kind of onstage charisma, they made up for in a cavorting catalogue of classics.

It may have been a Sunday night, but The Cribs' show made for a wayward night of unforgettable throwbacks; the loom of a new week was pushed to the back of the mind. Though they are currently touring on behalf of their sixth album For All My Sisters, which reached the UK top 10 earlier this year, their set seemed to be a non-stop barrage of the tracks that have cemented their 11 year career thus far. Perhaps this is why the audience was almost entirely made up of riotous, balding 30+ males in chinos and one distinctly older gentleman who just had to crowd surf.

(photo creds: digital spy)

Though The Cribs have achieved relatively little mainstream commercial success, they have garnered what can only be described as a cult following. Legions of dedicated fans, such as those at the Bristol leg of their tour, respond tremendously to anything the band throws at them. A 21-strong song setlist is a difficult thing for any musician to pull off (unless you're, like, The Rolling Stones or something) - to inhibit an audience's attention from wavering elsewhere is a craft that The Cribs have (almost) perfected. It's true that new single Summer Of Chances failed to inspire much passion, yet this instance was very much an anomaly.

From their sprawling collection of hits, it's likely that The Cribs would have played your favourite song (EXCEPT there was a horrible omission of the early 00s masterpiece You Were Always The One, which I found to be seriously upsetting). Opening with Ancient History and making their way through classics - both new and old - such as Moving Pictures and super-charged self-confessional I'm A Realist, there were a million moments to shout along to: Hey Scenesters!, the haunting thrills of Be Safe, and, of course, Men's Needs all immediately come to mind. The true diamond of the set (yes, it's one of my favourite songs ever so, yes, I can be shamelessly biased about it all) was You're Gonna Lose Us - the infectiously delusional, essentially Northern 2005 b-side. All anyone wanted to do was roar the chorus back to them: When I'm drunk I can be an arsehole / But that don't mean I've got no class though. Truer words have never been spoken (but I guess the claim that I have class, especially when drunk, is a much debatable one).

It is a rare occasion to leave a venue so satisfied with the artist's choice of showcased material as I did post The Cribs' Sunday night disco.

keep an eye out for our upcoming interview with swim deep on burst radio! i've also been working on pieces for the student newspaper, coming very soooooooon x