Broken tour vans weren’t enough to keep Fleet Foxes from making their Hi-Dive set on Tuesday. Photos by .
I first heard about from a pair of gents from Leeds, England at this year’s festival. We were waiting to get into an afternoon showcase and were discussing our experiences up to that point. Unanimously, they sang the praises of Fleet Foxes’ live show as their favorite, throwing in that an A&R rep from Sub Pop had said they were the best band he’d signed in 10 years.
Unfortunately, my friends and I missed them at SXSW but thanks to Denver’s proximity to Austin we got to see them at a few weeks later. That first show at the Hi-Dive was jaw-dropping. Recalling all of the best aspects of harmony-laden, 1970s folk rock and combining it with something subtly tribal, Fleet Foxes immediately established themselves as a must-see live band.
Kimberly Morrison of The Dutchess and The Duke.
So it perhaps goes without saying that I had decided months ago to see them on their second trip to Denver. On Tuesday (the day of the show), I called my friend Jim to make arrangements of where to meet beforehand. “I’ve got some potentially bad news,” Jim sighed. “The Fleet Foxes van broke down 80 miles outside of Denver. They may not make it.” I kept calm, hoping that the 80-mile gap wouldn’t be enough to keep them from sharing their music with the sold out crowd at the Hi-Dive.
We grabbed some dinner and were relieved to hear that the show would go on. (According to a message posted on the band’s Myspace profile, it was frontman Robin Pecknold’s sweet Aunt Polly who saved the day, driving the band and their gear the rest of the way to Denver.)
Jim and I arrived at the packed Hi-Dive in time to catch both openers. Locals shuffled between a drunken, sloppy Johnny Cash and a disoriented Southern rock band. After their set, Seattle’s took the stage and played a set of sparse folk reminiscent of a less-honed version of Peter, Paul and Mary. Not bad, but slightly disjointed.
By this point, the heat from the tightly-bunched crowd had become apparent so I stepped outside to get some air. Without much warning, Fleet Foxes took the stage and gently launched into the title track on their acclaimed “Sun Giant” EP. As I made my way back to my spot by the soundboard, I could sense that the audience was transfixed.
Pecknold’s honey-coated voice is disarming, and I was immediately reminded of how genuinely warm this music had made me feel the first time I heard it. After hushing the din, Fleet Foxes moved effortlessly through “Drops in the River” and “English House,” completing the first three tracks on “Sun Giant.”
Between songs, Pecknold shared that their van had broken down an hour and a half outside of Denver, and that they were happy that they didn’t have to cancel the show. Maybe it was just me, but I noticed a tinge of road-weariness in their demeanor. But where a lesser band would have folded, they played gracefully, unaffected, even elated.
The anthemic chorus of “Your Protector” transported me to a forest, desperately riding on horseback to find my love before it was too late. “Blue Ridge Mountains” washed over me, reminding me of the times I visited my grandmother in the mountains of West Virginia and how much I missed my brother. Every song impacted the room in ways I can only relate through my frame of reference, but it was a noticeably communal experience simply based on the ecstatic applause following each one.
After the set, Pecknold came back out to close with the beautifully and delicate “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” the perfect lullaby to complete the evening. For fear of being of hyperbolic, I can’t say that Fleet Foxes are the best band to be signed to Sub Pop in the last 10 years. All I can say is that I was moved. And, judging by the reactions surrounding me, it’s safe to say I wasn’t alone.
Paul Custer is a Denver-based writer and Reverb contributor.
Laurie Scavo is a Denver-based photographer and regular Reverb contributor.
