Foals
Visulite Theatre
May 1, 2013

Originally scheduled for the remodeled Neighborhood Theatre, the May 1, 2013, Foals concert was moved after some permit delays held up the NoDa venue's grand re-opening. Sure, it would have been one hell of an opening night performance, but a change of venue didn't dampen the energy inside the packed-like-sardines Visulite Theatre.

The English indie-rock quintet made its way to the stage for "Prelude," the opening instrumental track from its latest album, Holy Fire, before launching into "Inhaler." The crowd was hooked - jumping up and down, singing along to every word and, like the band, sweating up a storm.

A completely different energy took over the room from the opening notes, with the crowd giving Foals a hearty welcome for the band's first Charlotte appearance. The quintet rarely relented, making use of the complete stage - and venue.

Singer/guitarist Yannis Philippakis dove off the stage for a bit of crowd surfing, walked across a precariously narrow bar before crowd surfing a second time and jumped into the crowd to sing and play guitar on multiple occasions. Oh, and he found time to jump off of some speakers, too.

Dipping plenty of times into their debut album, Antidotes, from 2008, Foals played a range of songs to satisfy the music-hungry crowd. The only disappointment was the band denying a couple of requests right before its encore, saying they'd play them the next time they're in town. For a band that appeared to mix in plenty of on-stage and off-stage improvisation into its set, it was a bit of a surprise that they couldn't allow for setlist changes. Though I'm sure, after a three song encore, there were few, if any, people in attendance who walked away disappointed.

If there was going to be any disappointment after the night, it was likely to stem from a flat performance by opening band Surfer Blood. Last time around, Surfer Blood thrilled a sold-out Snug Harbor. Where three years ago the band was energetic and captivating, last night's set had few true highlights. Singer John Paul Pitts hit the right notes - at times - though he had plenty of off-key moments as well. Each time the band seemed to finally hit their stride and get the crowd going, they would perform a new song that didn't sound as strong, and was not performed as tightly, as the older material. Perhaps they're still finding a comfort zone with the upcoming album.

The night's other opening band, Blondfire, did its job getting the crowd warmed up with its indie rock infused with hints of pop, including a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

Setlist
Prelude
Inhaler
Balloons
Olympic Airways
Bad Habit
Milk
Sahara
Red Sox Pugie
Late Night
Providence
Bloom

Encore
Stepson
My Number
Two Steps Twice