California indie-pop outfit Foster the People.

California indie-pop outfit Foster the People.

★★★★

You might know Foster the People for catchy dance anthems such as the 2011 viral hitPumped Up Kicks but what you might not know is how excellent they are live.

From the moment they walked on stage the California indie-pop outfit pitched the energy at 11 and kept it there for more than 90 minutes.

The songs are pure sunshine in sound but the lyrics are often deeper and darker.

On record the singles rely more on a synthesised track underpinning clear vocals. Live there were still electronic effects but a six-strong band including two drummers meant the vocals were set against heavy beats and a wall of rich sound.

The lighting looked as though it came straight out of the Vivid festival,with gorgeous coloured patterns,while the intimate space proved the ideal venue to showcase frontman Mark Foster's suave dance moves.

Throughout the show he jumped on and off various unusual-looking keyboards and even took a turn conducting the rest of the band into a percussion crescendo.

Advertisement

He didn't talk much but broke his silence to speak about the Syrian refugee crisis and the rise of racism in the United States,making an impassioned plea for youth to change the world.

Foster the People have made three albums and played songs from their full repertoire,from breakthrough hitsHelena Beat andDon't Stop (from 2011'sTorches),through a handful fromSupermodel(2014) includingAre You What You Want to Be? andComing of Age,toDoing it for the Money andSit Next to Me from the currentSacred Hearts Club. They also did a rocking cover of the Ramones' Blitzkrieg Bop.

They savedPumped Up Kicks for the encore to an ecstatic response,after making the crowd wait just long enough for us to wonder if they really were coming back.

Foster the People might not have quite sold out the Enmore this time around but it's easy to imagine them playing stadiums on their next visit.

Most Viewed in Culture

Loading