Music
11 Feb 16

Review: Foals At Dublin's 3Arena

As the final track of the night winded down, the diminutive frontman ditched his guitar and leapt from the stage into a sea of upwardly stretched hands.

When Foals released their fiery first single ‘What Went Down’, from the album of the same name, something began to change. No longer were the English 5-piece destined to play mid-sized venues, they had turned a corner. From their magnetic 2006 song ‘Hummer’ to 2015’s What Went Down, the indie-alt rockers have steadily built on the solid foundations of their debut LP Antidotes.

Foals rolled in to Dublin’s 3Arena on Wednesday night draped in a new status. Their 2016 tour is a crowning achievement of a decade’s worth of blood, sweat, tears, and exceptional music. There was an absolute buzz of energy in the venue. The standing section was heaving with chattering by-standers, squashed together, restlessly hopping from left to right in anticipation of the indie darlings.

"Alright Dublin! This is fucking great to be back here," Yannis Philippakis told the crowd, before launching in to the enchanting 'Olympic Airways'. By the time the band got to 'My Number', the whole crowd began to sway back and forth like a lapping wave.

The singer effortlessly strummed each guitar string, easing his way through 'Give It All', while throwing in the occasional 360 spin move. As 'Mountain At My Gates' kicked in and the smell of marijuana wafted to the ceiling, Philippakis bellowed "Are you ready to get nasty?"

The set meandered between frenetically punchy tunes to mood-setting anthems. This was no more evident than when the atmospheric 'Spanish Sahara' commenced. As Foals weaved their way through their four albums, playing extended, alternative versions of 'Red Socks Pugie' and 'Late Night', the English group were in complete command.

"Thank you to everyone that supported us from the beginning, we never thought we'd get to play in a place like this, it's the first night of our arena tour and its fucking surreal," Yannis admitted earnestly.

Vocally, Philippakis' performance was outstanding throughout. Foals came back on stage for a three song encore of 'London Thunder', 'What Went Down' and 'Two Steps, Twice'. As the final track of the night winded down, the diminutive frontman ditched his guitar and leapt from the stage into a sea of upwardly stretched hands.