Tuesday 11/03/08 Foals, Esser, Youthmovies @ Academy 2, Manchester

Tonight Gigwise has gone through the looking glass and ended up at Academy Two. Touts outside beg the crowd for tickets and middle aged men with asymmetrical fringes link arms with look-a-like youngsters in anticipation of what’s ahead, surreal doesn’t even come close. It seems like this could be the perfect moment to catch Foals, just before debut ‘Antidotes’ shows everyone just why this Oxford quintet are the next big thing and their live shows become a little less intimate.

First up though is another Oxford quintet and Foal’s supposed favourite band, Youthmovies. Hardworking doesn’t come close,  not only did lead singer Andrew Mears create Foals as a side project until he decided Youthmovies needed more of his attention, but members of the band also run Try Harder Records. Idiosyncratic time signatures and progressive sounds fill our ears as we bear witness to a band pushing boundaries of genre even further than that of the main event. Re-released single ‘The Naughtiest Girl Is A Monitor’ is a highlight along with a breathtaking ‘If You’d Seen A Battlefield,’ think Cap n Jazz but replace the Jazz with heartbreak, melody and a trumpet. A testament to their non formulaic sound, Youthmovies are hard to describe, but we can only think that Foals current hype can only be good for bands like this. Their set is a myriad of progression; quiet, loud, slow, fast and sometimes extraordinary all in the space of half an hour.

Next up another surprise, Esser take to the stage in band form, i.e. more than one, but apparently it’s all the work of one guy, the late Ladyfuzz’s drummer Ben Esser. Esser are hard to describe in a different way to Youthmovies, how about part dancehall, pop and reggae drums all made with a little sprinkle of cockney self depreciation for good measure. After a run through of ‘I Love U,’ it’s halfway through and we’re starting to think Esser sound a bit like a macho Lily Allen. But Esser’s charm lies in their sense of fun, the crowds are a little subdued but they’re still having a riot. As (Ben) Esser reworks his quiff and the band launch into a full on swing club ‘Satisfied,’ we decide to rescind our previous comment as Lily Allen’s shit and Esser actually leave us rather contented.
 
Foals entrance is anything but assuming, they enter instruments at the ready as Yannis proclaims, “thanks for being here.” Grandiose it isn’t, but thirty seconds into set opener ‘The French Open,’ we realise that grandiosity is overrated. Foals aren’t about having a swagger or gimmick, their strength lies in their confidence to play the music they want to play. As each band member huddles around their respective instruments/microphones as if they’re desperate for body warmth, we realise that there could be five people here tonight and they’d still be playing with the same intensity. They rifle through ‘Cassius’, ‘Balloons’ and ‘Hummer’ as the crowd descend into total meltdown.

At one point we see a Schwarzenegger like sacrificial thumbs up from the mass en front, a symbol that it’s worth the threat of been crushed just to be ten meters nearer to the band. Throughout it’s the music not the band that entertains the crowd, in fact the only time we catch a full on look at a band member is when Yannis descends into the sweaty mass below in an act of bonding, a metaphorical ‘thank you’ that means more than a thrown drum stick ever could. Foals tonight are faultless; Yannis and Jimmy’s dual guitars intertwine and dissimilate so perfectly sometimes it’s hard for our heads to keep up, mistakes may be made but nobody seems to know or care. As the set draws to an end with a rousing ‘Electric Bloom,’ Foals depart only to swiftly return for an encore that satisfies the chants of ‘Mathletics’ that have been heard throughout.

So all too shortly we depart back into the Manchester night, Touts nowhere to be seen and asymmetrical fringes wet and floppy. As we walk and try to decide on a highlight, probably for us ‘Red Sox Pugie’, the real highlight is the fact the noise around is a thousand fans having the same debate. If we’re gonna label Foals as thinking mans band your philosophy must surely be, I love Foals: therefore I am.