Electric Picnic Live Review - Foals

If it had been anyone other than Pet Shop Boys wrapping up the Main Stage on Friday, you'd have been concerned for the act given the task of following Foals. Arriving on stage at 9pm and boasting an impressive light show and backdrop, Yannis Philippakis and co are fearless from the off, clearly comfortable in their new role as one of indie rock's heavy hitters.
Their complex rhythms and guitar figures are all underpinned by a primal groove that prompts the crowd to get properly moving for the first time today – Blondie's effect earlier on being more to turn the entire place into one massive moshpit.
As ever, the shimmering, epic 'Spanish Sahara' is a real stand-out, ebbing and flowing with grace and finally building to a tremendous crescendo. Holy Fire material goes down a treat, as the likes of the infectious, exotic 'My Number' confirm that the quintet are only getting better.
By the end, Yannis is banging his own drum, "interacting" with the crowd (his attempts at crowd surfing aren't a complete success, but the thought is there) and by then 'Inhaler' arrives to send everyone assembled into a frenzy as the polite lads from Oxford momentarily out-riffed and out-screamed Rage Against The Machine.
The finale could have been a dud, as technical difficulties threaten to hobble the guitars, but in the event it only means we get an entrancing, extended intro to 'Two Steps, Twice'. When the closer finally get properly underway, we end on a post-rock high note, as Yannis takes to the crowd once more, who receive him adoringly.
It's apparently the last Irish show Foals will play for quite some time.
We can only hope they hurry back.