Foals live review: Olympia Theatre, Dublin, February 6

The Olympia theatre seems a really juxtaposed choice for The Oxford five-piece, it’s a theatre steeped in history and on a rainy night in Dublin, Foals were a band determined to re-write it.
A sell-out on both nights. The Olympia was sizzling with anticipation, some fans having travelled long distances to see them and they intended not to disappoint.

Opening with ‘Prelude’ off their 2013 album Holy Fire, giving a nice introduction to each member of the band, the song builds and builds, eventually erupting in a cacophony of intrinsic guitars and heavy bass, the crowd also erupted, from the start Yannis Phillipakis took control of the audience and refused to let them go.

A few songs in, things heated up with the bombastic ‘Numbers,’ as the crowd began bouncing, singing every word, and clearly having the time of their lives.

‘Milk & Black Spider’s’ allowed the band to show off their skills as musicians with solos from both guitarists extending the song almost into a Grateful Dead jam, if the Grateful dead listened to more techno and had better hair.

Yannis warned Hot Press earlier in the day about lasers, and boy were there lasers, a rotating grid like laser system provided dynamic visuals as the pressure filled theatre burst during an incredible rendition of Providence, which culminated in Yannis running through the crowd, falling backwards and surfing over what were now his disciples.

A magic moment happens during the meditative ‘Spanish Sahara’ as all the crowd sit on the floor as if instructed by the Dalai Lama himself. That is until the beat drops in the final few minutes of the song, when the crowd rise simultaneously like the earth has jumped.

As the closing sonic howls of the intense ‘Inhaler’ fade away Yanis declares ‘You’ve been f*****g Awesome’ and the audience felt the same way.

An encore was in no doubt here, and after a rapturous ‘Hummer’ the closing song of ‘Two Steps, Twice’ from their debut Antidotes showcased the core of this band, meticulous precision and execution of their sound and of their performance.

Yannis then ended the night by once again swimming through the audience and proceeding to jump off a balcony, into the adoring arms.

Other than the security, everyone had fun experiencing a still young band at the top of their game.

Words & Photo By Charles Fisher