Foster the People is on a roll. After some smashing gigs at SXSW the Los Angeles group, expanding from a three-piece to 5-piece for this tour, are selling out venues all along the way to Coachella in April.
I got a chance to check out the short-but-sweet set at the IAMSOUND Records party on the first day of SXSW, complete with the poppy and bouncy “Pumped Up Kicks” single.
People pushed up to the small stage in the daylight hours, dancing through songs from the forthcoming debut, Torches (due out May 24…although there is rumor of a mediafire/torrent leak), along with “Houdini” goodness from Foster the People’s self-titled E.P.
Lead singer Mark Foster, aside from tinkling the electronics, was right in their faces, singing with a fury of a metalhead but with a backdrop of joy and levity, which spread throughout the bobbing heads and twisting feet.
Bassist Cubbie Fink, sporting what seems to be a new, shorter ‘do, and rightly so for the warmer Austin weather, moved as best he could within his one-foot by one-foot space. Pushed over to the right of the stage, Mark Pointus’ drum kit was not your average configuration, as he stood in front of the bass drum and used congas at times in lieu of drumsticks.
I wasn’t familiar with the new material, and without a set list to reference (I’m sure it was a stamped on, crumpled mess by the time the band was done), I couldn’t name off any of the song titles. But from what I heard the new beat-infused, palpitating tracks from Torches should not disappoint Foster the People fans that have lived off the band’s first three E.P. songs for the last year.
Bravo boys.
Foster the People tour schedule:
March 30 – Walnut Room (previously booked at Larimer Lounge ) – Denver
March 31 – The Record Bar – Kansas City
April 1 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis
April 2 – Schubas – Chicago
April 3 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto
April 7 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston
April 8 – Mercury Lounge – New York
April 9 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn
April 10 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia
April 11 – Red Palace – Washington D.C.
April 14 – Hoxton Bar and Kitchen – London, U.K.
April 17 – Coachella – Indio
May 27 – George Amphitheatre – George
