What went down

Tonight brought one of the most eventful periods of the year to a close. In this case, it was seeing the English band Foals in concert at the United Palace Theater. 

To get to tonight, we have to go back to the week after the first trip to Spain last November. All that summer, I kept hearing about Foals and their album What Went Down. Their song Mountain At My Gates became a rallying cry whenever I began to doubt myself. With the song already an earworm, I went on Amazon and purchased the album and it got stuck in my head. I wanted to see them live but missed the chance when they were at Terminal 5. I wasn’t going to let it happen again. 

Then came this August. I heard of their tour stopping in New York come November 4th. After wavering through the week the tickets went on sale, I was there when the tickets went on sale the morning of 8/5. At the very least, this would do a small part in helping me with the post trip comedown that happened on the flight from Madrid. There was a bit of a hitch though, my ticket never arrived in the mail. So, two emails and a few calls later, it would be waiting for me at will call. 

After a week which I began to question whether or not I should’ve come home from Spain, the day arrived. I made the trek all the way to the A train station at 175th Street and the theater would be two blocks away. I had enough time to visit the Kazaa Wine Bar across the street for a bottle of Estrella Damn and honey bacon flatbread with asiago cheese. But the drama wasn’t done yet.

It turned out that my ticket wasn’t at will call. I had to head to the cash sales window before receiving the ticket. The first set of the night by the band Kiev had already begun. After 45 more minutes, the second band from Brooklyn, Bear Hands performed. It was almost go time. 

A little after 10:20PM, Foals took the stage. The theme of the night was relentless energy. From the opening song to the big finish of What Went Down & Two Steps Twice, you could feel frontman Yannis’s energy all the way around the theater and was personified during the mass singalong aka Mountain at my Gates. I left into the night happily drained. Don’t be surprised if this band gets bigger in the US as they have the dynamic show to rematch their sound. During the finale, Yannis made his way crowd surfing and through the aisles before an outro that brought the house down. 

I headed home in amazement of what I just saw. And most of the sadness and longing felt from returning to reality retreated, for now. My last concert brings a tradition back, the holiday show of the group, Erin & Her Cello on birthday eve, 11/30. But before that something special is on the horizon, my friend Jen’s birthday party in two weeks time. 

I might not be traveling the rest of the year, but I hope to end on a high note!