More about: Foals

Music once again showcased its unifying power at last night’s (17 February) BRITs Week show at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. As Foals take to the stage, it’s perhaps the biggest gig taking place during this week’s string of intimate shows in support of War Child, but still a vast underplay for these festival headliners. 

It’s the indie titan’s first show of 2020 as vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis declares during his first interaction with the West London audience. “It feels good to be back,” he insists before launching into a seismic rendition of ‘On The Luna’. 

Tonight also sees the live debut from Jack Freeman on bass. Best known for his work with Jagwar Ma, Yannis introduces and welcomes him on stage, telling the audience he’ll be playing with the band for the next year. 

As the evening progresses it’s evident that this is a band that have honed and executed their live show with precision. Everything from the rattling bass and thunderous percussion vibrating around the venue to the warm mood lighting that glows behind each member of the group represents a piece of the Foals live experience that fits together seamlessly.

The set is a mixture of old and new, with a healthy portion of tracks from both parts of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost being celebrated. ‘In Degrees’ still translates as the throbbing disco floor-filler we’ve come to adore on record, with an added instrumental breakdown, before Yannis teases, “we’re going to play some chunky numbers now,” by way of introducing the cinematic ‘Like Lightning’.

A live debut of ethereal album closer ‘Neptune’ starts to bring things to an end before they thrash through ‘Black Bull’, ‘What Went Down’ and ‘Two Steps, Twice’. If Foals ever needed to prove their vitality as a rock band in 2020, they’ve made a watertight case here. 

More about: Foals