Foster the People w/ NONONO at Myth, Maplewood (04 Aug 2014)
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Tour Dates
08/08/14 Squamish, BC Logger Sports Grounds
08/09/14 Troutdale, OR McMenamins Edgefield 08/23/14 Reading, UK Richfield Avenue 08/24/14 Leeds, UK Bramham Park 08/28/14 Anchorage, AK Moose’s Tooth Pub 08/30/14 Edmonton, AB Northlands Grounds 08/31/14 Calgary, AB Fort Calgary Historic Park 09/01/14 Seattle, WA Seattle Center 09/05/14 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center 09/06/14 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion 09/07/14 Raleigh, NC Walnut Creek Amph 09/08/14 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 09/10/14 Ottawa, ON Hog’s Back Park 09/11/14 Buffalo, NY Canalside 09/12/14 Columbus, OH The LC Pavilion 09/13/14 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom 09/27/14 La Jolla, CA RIMAC Arena 09/28/14 Tempe, AZ Tempe Beach Park 09/30/14 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center 10/02/14 Oklahoma City, OK OKC Downtown 10/03/14 Austin, TX Zilker Park 10/05/14 Mobile, AL Downtown Mobile 10/08/14 Columbia, MO Downtown Columbia 10/08/14 Columbia, MO Blue Note 10/10/14 Austin, TX Zilker Park 10/16/14 Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach 10/18/14 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Cafe 10/20/14 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace Theatre 10/24/14 New York, NY United Palace 10/25/14 New York, NY United Palace 11/01/14 Mexico Cardines De Parque Fundidora 11/08/14 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 11/10/14 Sacramento, CA Memorial Auditorium 11/14/14 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Aud & Expo Hall 11/15/14 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl Read More
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NONONO: Astma & Rocwell and singer Stina Wäppling
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A Swedish trio (that doubled into six for their touring version) NONONO, opened the show with a brief but bouncy half hour of danceable alt-pop. The main three in the band (production team Astma & Rocwell and singer Stina Wäppling) were humble but thrilled to be in Minneapolis for the first time, in support of their first full-length, We Are Only What We Feel (Warner Music) and have caught the country’s attention with single, ‘Pumpin Blood’ which has been everywhere, including the soundtrack for a Samsung commercial.
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NONONO
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As a moody instrumental intro played, the band came out and played in minimal lighting, getting the crowd to clap along from the very first verse. ’Human Being’ was dark but danceable, and their sound seemed very based on percussive rhythms with keyboard and guitar flourishes, as Wäppling’s voice rose like a restrained Florence Welch, to drive the tracks.
The band only turned up the lights briefly near the end of their set to introduce the members, with Wäppling apologizing to the audience for being somewhat so hard to see. ‘Pumpin’Blood’, a “song you might have heard”, indeed “had the whole world whistling” or at least the throng that was in attendance at Myth. A headlining set in a smaller room would only be better, so let’s hope they return soon.
Amidst a two-level stage embellished with small glacier-like artifices which lit up in tandem and rows of footlights, Foster the People took the stage for their 85 min. set, starting smartly with newest radio hit, ‘Best Friend’.
The band is out in support of Supermodel (Columbia Records), which was helmed by big-time producer Paul Epworth, (Adele, Paul McCartney, Coldplay) and the live version of the band, like NONONO, expanded two-fold, with three additional members joining Mark Foster (vocals, a little of everything else), “Cubbie” Fink (bass), and Mark Pontius (drums).
Foster was at center, dressed in a fitted black leather jacket, black pants, penny loafers (no socks) and an odd t-shirt from Berlin of a Wall painting of USSR’s Brezhnev kissing then-East German leader Honecker. The other band members were spread about the stage, often staying in their same corners, but occasionally converging near Pontius’ drum kit, which also had keyboards and other instruments in the immediate area.
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Foster the People
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Foster didn’t address the crowd for the first several songs; instead letting the music do the talking, which was more than all right with this mostly-younger crowd, who were very excited to be there (with the exception of a Jeff “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” Spicoli look/sound-a-like in a Summer Set shirt near me, who was too enamored by his own loud voice). Foster impressed, moving about the stage and switching instruments almost every couple of songs.
“Thanks for coming out on a Monday night”, he remarked after an upbeat ‘Helena Beat’ from the band’s debut, “it’s always great to be back”. ‘Waste’ slowed things down a bit, but still had that distinctive FTP bassline as its foundation and the band’s highly-polished alt-pop translates well from studio-to-concert, similar to French band Phoenix, who has a equally smooth and eminently likeable sound.
First single from Supermodel, ‘Coming of Age’ brought things up again with the audience clapping along at the bridge, then things got a little trippy mid-set with ‘Pseudologia Fantastica ‘, a song that evokes images as wild as the album’s cover art. “It’s warming up in here”, Foster remarked, ditching his jacket while shuffling in his penny loafers in a way that was mildly Michael Jackson reminiscent.
The three songs that ended the main set (‘Beginners Guide/Never Mind/The Truth’) seemed to flow together neatly (although they are not in that order on the new album), and seemed more conceptual in nature, when played live back-to-back.
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Foster the Setlist: “Miss You” not played
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The encore turned out to be abbreviated, as ‘Miss You’ was on the setlist, but…err, missed, with the band launching forward into their biggest hit, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, which was more than ok with a crowd that had been waiting all night to hear the song.
‘Don’t Stop’ from first album, Torches, closed the night with aplomb, with the audience hoping the band wouldn’t stop, though the all-ages curfew time was fast approaching. Pumped up from the show, everyone was released back into suburbia, waiting until the band comes to town again.
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Foster the People at Myth, Maplewood (04 Aug 2014) |