British rock band Foals performed to a sold-out crowd at the Observatory on March 23 in support of its new album “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost.”
The album is the first part of a two-part double album that came out earlier this month. The band finally came out and performed a mix of its songs from its 14-year career, including big singles like “Mountain at My Gates” and “My Number.” The band played six songs from the new album, opening with “On the Luna.”
On the Apple Music page for the new album, lead singer and songwriter Yannis Philippakis detailed every song on the album and mentioned that “On the Luna” touches on this current peculiar moment in politics.
“There’s a line in there about Trump and how it’s strange to be in a time where you’re mortified by certain things that happen in politics but at the same time being transfixed by it,” he said.
Phillippakis was in very high spirits and appreciative of the sold-out crowd that was bursting at the seems almost the entire night. The last time Foals played in the city was also at the Observatory, right around its last stop at Coachella.
Phillipakis seemed determined to give the audience an honest rock show that was anything but sanitized.
One of the most profound moments of the show came when the band performed its song “Black Gold,” in which Greek singer Philippakis sang, “The future is not what it used to be.”
Next came “Spanish Armada,” which got a huge reaction out of the San Diego crowd. Another nautical-themed song that had fans jumping was “Red Socks Pugie,” a song that plays around with the concept of two lovers swooning over each other through the imagery of blood vessels.
Fiercer moments came when the band performed, “Providence,” as Philippakis screamed, “I’m an animal just like you, I bleed just like you,” all while blood-red stage lights poured down on the audience.
The band ended the main set with the speaker-crushing anthem “Inhaler” before coming out again for an encore. As the band came back, Philippakis said, “Let’s devastate this place,” while still smoking the freshly-lit cigarette in his hand.
The band then performed “What Went Down,” where Philippakis screamed at the audience, “When I see a man, I see a lion” over and over again, and the high-energy closer that Foals has become known for, “Two Steps Twice,” getting to the barricade one last time.
Philippakis was hard to contain by the tight security at the Observatory, but he and his band put on a show that was reminiscent of how rock n’ roll could and should feel.
