Foxygen assembled on the Red 7 patio stage on the third day into SXSW 2013, after over a half hour of sound check. Under normal circumstances, not a big deal. In a festival scenario with a tight schedule, kind of a deal.
So the show goes on.
From the start, lead vocalist and frontman Sam France took his place behind the keyboards, donned in colorful garb fitting of an artist ready to paint with flair. Seems that the Los Angeles band, who has garnered many accolades for their live performances here in the U.S. and abroad, were feeling worse for wear as a result of their tour schedule. France began the set apologizing for his voice, having been singing every night for the last two months, when a heckler responded. What some guy from the back of the crowd yelled wasn’t discernable, but it set France off.
“Who said that?! Come on the fucking stage and talk to me about it you fucking coward!”
This went on for a few more minutes, then the band went into the first song, “In the Darkness,” much to the relief of the band members and the crowd. That feeling was short lived as France announced the end of the show. Guitarist Jonathan Rado followed him off, only to return and apologize that in fact, that was it.
But France did indeed return and Foxygen lived up to their reputation for sounds and orchestrations capable of bringing the mood back to center, with the crowd loving every note, lick and chord.
Given the delay and interruptions, the magic didn’t last as long as all of us would have liked. But we took what we could get this time around.
Foxygen stay on tour in the U.S. through May, but have cancelled their U.K. dates, probably to get some rest.
