Foals / Yard Act, Castlefield Bowl. 29th June 2022

Kicking off my week at Castlefield Bowl with Foals in the Manchester… nope sorry, the sun’s buggered off, but at least the rain’s held off too. Wet Leg we’re supposed to support and would’ve been great, but someone got Covid and so as James shouts “Surprise!”, Yard Act are here. It’s a spectacular substitution and they start proceedings with ‘The Overload’, proving that all those times I saw them in small rooms wasn’t a fluke. They step up easily to a bigger stage and bigger crowd. Although James does ask “Does anyone know who we are?”, I bloody do and ‘Dark Days’, followed by ‘Fixer Upper’ AND ‘Trappers Pelts’ is fucking glorious!! James is on fine form, extending those razor sharp lyrics to the banter between songs, “Sorry we don’t have any songs about posh furniture”, sensing that there’s not much crossover between Yard Act and Foals fans. The two lads stood next to me, spending ‘100% Endurance’ working out where they’ll meet if they get separated. This crowd don’t know what they’ve slept through, bloody idiots. ‘Pay Day’ is a ferociously bouncy bastard and ‘Land Of The Blind’ the perfect two fingered salute finale as James says “Bye” and leaves the band to wrap up. I’m here for Foals (as are members of both IST IST and The Lottery Winners who I spot) and they’ll be brilliant, but Yard Act remain one of the most exciting new bands around (along with those others mentioned), even if I’m in the minority to recognise it here.

To Foals then. The crowd has filled out and I’m surrounded by kids with bad haircuts and even worse fashion sense. Why are these kids so boring? Some of the girls have made an effort, but seriously the lads are a right state. Thankfully Foals aren’t boring, launching into the aptly named ‘Wake Me Up’. It predictably goes off and as it rolls into ‘Mountain at My Gates’ the pit that I expected to form in front of me, instead envelops me on all sides. I tend to go for the safe spaces these days, but I’ve no choice but to push my glasses up on my nose and jump around, it’s brilliant. We’re in festival season and Foals are a festival band, their triumphant Glastonbury set as proof. As the sold out crowd sing ‘My Number’ back at Yannis, he’s clearly loving it. He’s the sort of frontman that feeds off it, you feel that his blood’s pumping at the same tempo as the songs, charged further by the rapture in front of him. Crowds can be fickle though, especially large ones who just want the hits. Newer songs like ‘Looking High’ lose them, as people start to talk about wanting a gin or some wine (I shit you not) or just a wee. Good luck on all fronts, this place is a disaster to navigate. Although I’ve now ditched the pit and taken refuge on the hill. I’ve got to admit the atmosphere up here can get lost with a band that’s unable to reach out that far, but Foals just about manage it and there’s always the comedy of people slipping and falling down to rely on. Honestly it never gets old. Things pick up though with the wonderful ‘Spanish Sahara’ dedicated to Yard Act as the sun sets. It’s a beautiful moment that feels genuinely special. I’ve never really thought of Foals as a massive band, but songs like this show just what they’re capable of in their tender moments and if that doesn’t flick your switch, have a bit of ‘Providence’ and ‘Inhaler’, both of which are live monsters, the later creating a pit of what feels like the entire floor space. The stage is built partly over the Manchester Ship Canal, they’re playing with fire!… or water I guess. Looking at the gig list, this won’t be the best gig I see here this summer, but make no mistake Foals are the very definition of awesome. They rattle through the set pretty damn fast, giving them opportunity to draw out ‘What Went Down’ into a full on face melter before closing with the math-rock (remember that) mayhem of ‘Two Steps, Twice’. Magnificent stuff and a pretty early finish, meaning I can get home a prep for tomorrows gig. Perfect!