Louisville, I’ll give you credit. Monday nights are slow for music but Foster The People challenged you and a lot of you delivered. The Louisville Palace had more people in it than I expected, many of whom were seeing the show on a school night.
The band was ready to go, Monday or not. Playing the best songs from their two albums, the trio turned six piece on stage projected every song to the back of the theater. Acoustic instruments made an appearance only one and in that instance were used to only add more sound.
Mark Foster, front man of the band, used his time on stage to give a couple speeches directed at the young people at the audience. One of them was about music unifying everyone no matter the background and in the other he told the crowd to tune in because “apathy is this generation’s enemy.” It was reaching preachy but much of the crowd was willing to listen.
Foster’s body language opened up as the show went on. He stepped on the stage with slicked back hair and a black denim jacket similar to Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys looking too cool for school but by the end he was getting the crowd to clap and telling them not to hold anything back and the young crowd obliged.
Much to my surprise, Foster The People’s biggest radio hit “Pumped Up Kicks” did not receive the biggest ovation. The crowd got more excited for the booming choruses in songs like “Best Friend,” “Are You Who You Want To Be,” and “Don’t Stop (Color On The Walls).” While “Pumped Up Kicks” has a very memorable baseline, compared to other songs, it is sort of mellow.
But mellow was a rarity for last night’s show. “Call It What You Want” ended it a powerful guitar solo and “Houdini” showed their electronic chops. The show ended with two percussionists wailing away while the band members walked out one by one.
It would have been a better measure to see what sort of crowd Foster The People could have had if they played on the weekend, but on a chilly, rainy Monday night, a lot of The Louisville Palace did as Foster told them and forgot about the rest of the week and lived right then and there.
One final note: Like every other artist that plays The Louisville Palace, Foster mentioned that the venue is probably the most beautiful theater, he had ever been in. And they are always right.
Photos by C. Michael Stewart.
