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CONCERT REVIEW: Fleet Foxes @ The Tower 5/21
The first thing one notices about Seattle's Fleet Foxes either live or on any album is that these guys have some pipes.
CONCERT REVIEW: Fleet Foxes @ The Tower 5/21
“This is like a physical manifestation of a website’s comments page.”
The first thing one notices about Seattle’s Fleet Foxes either live or on any album is that these guys have some pipes. Robin Pecknold’s voice sounded even stronger on stage for the most part, especially on songs such as “The Shrine/An Argument,” “Ragged Wood,” and “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” where the power and range of Pecknold’s voice are on full display. Although Pecknold’s voice is great, you can’t really have Fleet Foxes songs without a healthy dose of harmonized vocals between him and J. Tillman, Casey Wescott, and Christian Wargo. The dead-on delivery of the harmonies was a and sound to behold. In one instance, during “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” nobody seemed to be close enough to their microphones to deliver a harmony in time, when suddenly like some strange folk-producing machine they all turned in sync and nailed it.
Beneath all the impressive vocal work, there was some pretty solid instrumentation. Pecknold and his crew run a pretty tight ship, as strings from cellos and guitars twanged along with saxophone, piano and drums. Fleet Foxes songs tend to have a much bigger sound live. This was especially satisfying during the performance of new song “Battery Kinzie” with its pounding tom heavy drum beat. It’s a song that just begs to be played loud, and hearing it played with such fullness and power really hit the spot.
While the music itself was incredible, the crowd at The Tower was pretty obnoxious. People shouted irrelevant or rude things in a way that was often cringe worthy. At one point J. Tillman even said, “This is like a physical manifestation of a website’s comments page.” Given the kind of music being played and the band’s friendly and funny presence on stage, it was pretty confusing and sometimes jarring.
Sean: I took my 16 y/o son to the 5/21/11 Fleet Foxes show at the Tower and we were both enthralled by the harmonies, instrumentation and song structures of the band. The power supplied by the drums (especially the kick drum) and bass played live were a welcome surprise and added even more dynamics to their compelling sound. I just loved it! There is one thing that still bothers me about the show, and from your article, I think you'll agree: some of the fans were just obnoxious. Most of the fans were very enthusiastically cheered at the beginning of the songs then quickly snapped into a quiet mode of listening to the beautiful music. Yet there were some people, and I will not call them "fans”, who supplied too many cringe-worth moments with inane and stupid comments. I was embarrassed. “What was the band thinking of us?” I wondered. Even my son rolled his eyes at some of the yelling. Sure, it’s a concert and people can let loose and have a good time, but why just yell to be heard? It's too bad because 99% of the crowd was so into the show, almost reverential, yet a few jerks (better suited for Ashburn Alley) could have spoiled the vibe for the audience and, as importantly, the band. I wish I could contact the band just to say: Hey, we in Philly all loved the show and sorry for a small handful of rude people, please come back."
Thanks,
Joseph McHugh- Carlisle, PA
— JosephMcHugh
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