ճ return to Denver on Tuesday had a mess of hipsters dancing like they had just discovered disco. Starting at 10 p.m. sharp, Foals throttled the for 90 minutes before enigmatic frontman Yannis Philippakis called it a night.
This was a different band than the one that For one, they commanded a large enough buzz on this visit to warrant an Ogden showing rather than a Larimer Lounge squeeze (albeit Tuesday’s show wasn’t quite sold out). And thanks to the Ogden, Philippakis had more room to go insane. Partway through the set he lost it, and climbed across the stage and dove into the crowd.
From the first harmonic picking of “Prelude” off Foals latest album “Holy Fire,” the five piece had the crowd in their palms. “My Number” and “Bad Habit” stirrred an already giddy audience, which led to one overheard observation: “Itap like a Widespread show in here!” screamed a fan. For his part, Philippakis only had time to utter a quick “Itap good to be back!” before slamming into the next tune.
The biggest musical difference between this and their last visit was a perfection of funk-aware, post-punk catharsis. As the show progressed, it became obvious that – whether you’re a wild fan or not – these men were made to make this music on a molecular, genetic level. And they did, including the funk-splosive “Enhaler” and “Two Step Twice” encore. They packed even more frenzy into the 30-minute encore, and the fist-pumping, legit-afro-banging wicked dancing crowd couldn’t have agreed more.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
