Live Music Spotlight ::: Foster the People at Counterpoint 2014

     In the real world, my jobs are that of a sports talk radio host and a Public Address Announcer at live sporting events, so I know a little bit about hyperbole. People speak in it all the time. "That's the best sandwich I've ever had" or "Nickelback is the greatest band of all time" (Okay, nobody has ever or will ever say that, but you get my point) are some examples of this. This next sentence, however, is not hyperbole and I cannot stress that enough. Foster the People's show at CounterPoint 2014 is one of the best live shows I have ever seen in my life. Obviously, in order for a show to fall into that category, the band you are seeing has to be one of your favorite bands. Foster the People is that for me. Their debut album Torches is one of the best debut albums I've ever heard; there isn't a bad song on it. Their follow up Supermodel didn't reach the heights of it's predecessor, but it still contains some of my favorite songs they've recorded. 

     The set at CounterPoint contained the best of both worlds. About half of the set consisted of all the good songs off of Supermodel (Are You What You Want to Be?, Pseudologia Fantastica, Coming of Age, Ask Yourself, A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon, The Truth, and Best Friend) and the other half contained some great songs off of Torches (Life On A Nickel, Miss You, Waste, Call It What You Want, Houdini, Pumped Up Kicks, Helena Beat, and Don't Stop [Color On The Walls]). When this show was over, I texted the other contributors on this blog, because I had to relay a message to them. When the band played "Best Friend", I actually teared up, and that has never happened to me at a show. Ever. My two colleagues here at You Ought to Hear This are my best friends, and while I was sad they weren't there to enjoy this amazing show with me, that song reminded me of how important having those people in your life is and I owe that reminder to the lyrics of Mark Foster: "I am here, no matter where you are. I'm waiting here with open arms, no matter where you are... You ought to know that I'm here no matter where you go." So, not to get preachy, but let your friends know how much you appreciate them from time to time.

     The only negative thing I have to say about this show has nothing to do with the band or their performance, but with the festival. For me, having Foster the People there was one of the major selling points because they are one of my favorite bands, but their musical style just didn't fit CounterPoint. For being a headliner, the crowd did not extend very far back compared to the other headlining sets of the weekend (Pretty Lights and Outkast). Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people at the show, but there were other, more "CounterPoint-esque" sets going on during it (GRiZ and Wolfgang Gartner). I was up on the rail (literally as close as you can get) so I could not have cared less about what was going on behind me, and the crowd of people around me were very into the show, but another major EDM act would have probably done better for them here. You've got to know your audience, and CounterPoint might have missed the mark here.

(Hit the jump for more on this amazing show, including 9 full length videos)

     Getting back to the performance, the band was definitely on their game this night. In typical Foster the People fashion, the songs from Supermodel sounded even better live. "Pseudologia Fantastica" was a constant groove that had the whole crowd swaying back and forth. Supermodel's lead single "Coming of Age" sounded amazing with the deeper, more gritty sound of a live electric guitar when compared to the sound of it recorded on the album. However, it still had the bounciness that you hear on the album, which made me turn to my friend who was with me and say "This really is a Beach Boys track for the 21st century." In terms of the song that got the most benefit from being played live, I'd have to go with "A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon". It's not a bad song on the album, it just feels like something is missing. When played live however, it sounds like an emphatic "declaration of war" as Foster himself described the song before starting to play it. That was definitely felt when Foster delivered these lyrics with a defiant scream: "Yeah we’ve been crying for a leader to speak like the old prophets. The blood of the forgotten wasn’t spilled without a purpose, or was it?" Another one of the highlights of the show for me was the playing of "Helena Beat" off of Torches. Foster the People typically don't jam during their songs (they usually just play them through), but Mark Foster got out the electric guitar and toward the end of the song played a gritty little solo that really ended it on an awesome note. Overall, I can't emphasize enough how incredible I thought this show was and how much better they've gotten at playing live shows as a band. Maybe the videos at the end of this post will help do it justice. In closing, if Foster the People is coming to a city near you, do whatever you can to go see them, I promise you will not be disappointed.   

   

Are You What You Want To Be?

 Miss You

 

Call It What You Want

 

Coming of Age

 

 A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon

 

Pumped Up Kicks

 

Helena Beat

 

Best Friend

 

Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)