Monday 13^th October 2008 @ Academy, Bristol
With Support From: The Dananananakroyds, Holy Fuck

It’s a Monday night and before ‘Mint’, the new indie student night, kicks off at the Academy but we have the small matter of a gig by Foals to lead us there.

With two supports on this evening and early doors it was always going to be a bit of a stretch to fit it all into one night. First up is a crazy six piece band who go by the name of The Dananananakroyds (I’m not typing that again - what a daft name!). Said band were incredibly enthusiastic as they bounced and squealed into action from the word go. They did an incredible job of whipping up the crowd who became a mass of jumping hands only a couple of songs into the set. This band had a lot of presence but their vocals were barely distinguishable and songs lacked any kind of staying power. In fact I had almost forgotten their last song by the time the lights went up which is a shame. They could really go a lot further with much stronger material (and a better name methinks); to use their moniker’s films as a basis for comparison, this band are more My Girl than Ghostbusters at the minute.

Second up were a band that totally knocked me sideways. They are known as Holy Fuck (what is going on with band names right now seriously) and are an incredibly talented instrumental four piece that sound like the love child of early Leftfield, Polysics and Curve. Their mastery of live electonica was such that the whole crowd were constantly dancing to every track as though they were watching a DJ and not a live set. Their music would not seem out of place filling a major slot at a big festival or accompanying some sort of club scene in a vampire movie. These guys are a truly special live experience for anyone remotely into dance music.

Last but not least we had Foals. I was led to believe that this band were going to be a fairly chilled out affair but I was mistaken; they are a very ‘scene worthy’ blend of indie and alt-punk with the lead singer trying his best to sound like Robert Smith from The Cure and nobody else seeming to notice. Although this might be due to the average age of a Foals punter it would seem.

The Foals fought through a few technical difficulties to deliver an excellent performance but as with the first band, I really do find their live music quite forgettable. They are incredibly ‘rock and roll’ right down to wrecking the stage and putting a guitar through a drum but their music just didn’t seem to reach a level where this kind of behaviour was necessary. Fans of Foals were clearly not disappointed and although I can enjoy their recorded material, I’m yet to be convinced by their live set.

www.wearefoals.com

Stu Freeman