Foster the People touched down in Texas for The Good Mourning Sunshine Tour right as a cold front hit the Lone Star State. It was slightly chilly at 60 degrees for an outdoor show, yet Austin showed up for the indie pop band at Moody Amphitheater on Friday (Oct. 16) night.
After a lively opening set from Goth Babe, who was awesome to see after the series of unfortunate events he has dealt with in recent years, Foster the People emerged onstage around 9:15 p.m. They quickly went into “Life on the Nickel” and “Helena Beat,” songs from their debut album Torches — which is still clearly the fan favorite, if the show was any indication. They performed more songs from that first album than from any of their other albums.
It is interesting that they are touring again right now, as they really haven’t released anything recently. They toured last year for their album Paradise State of Mind, but I wouldn’t call this current U.S. outing more promo for that project since the show only features two songs from it: “Lost in Space” (which got a great reaction from the audience) and “A Diamond to Be Born.”
At a recent show in Phoenix, Foster did reveal that they are working on their fifth studio album. Maybe this current trek around the US and Canada is for inspiration more than anything.
The set somewhat resembled a half-constructed house, with stacked platforms, exposed structural elements and angular panels suspended overhead. Its asymmetrical design gave the structure a distorted, almost collapsing appearance. The production was spot on, with very good use of the screens — including a few moments in which Mark used a camera with a fisheye lens onstage for cool effects. Speaking of distortion, there was a lot of that both visually and sonically — especially during interludes — which made for an interesting flow.
Mark is not known to be a very talkative frontman. He spoke for only about a minute of the 90-minute show and left the rest to the music.
“I was thinking about it tonight and this is the first city outside of Los Angeles that we ever played back in 2010,” frontman Mark Foster said referencing the band’s appearance at SXSW. “So you have a very special place in our heart.”
Some of the highlights of the night included “Houdini,” “Call It What You Want,” the sensory-overload (positive) performance of “Pseudologia Fantastica” and their breezy pop gem “Sit Next to Me.” They balanced the show well, keeping the audience engaged throughout the entire night. The only part of the show when they lost the crowd was during the slower-tempo ballad “Goats in Trees,” which prompted side conversations and trips to the restrooms, but it was otherwise a pretty high-energy show from start to finish.
They closed the night with their hit single “Pumped Up Kicks,” which activated the inevitable communal singalong and sent people home happy. While it feels like they will never escape the success of their breakthrough hit, there is absolutely a lot of substance in the rest of their discography that makes for a good night out at their live shows.
The Good Mourning Sunshine Tour has two dates left in San Diego and Los Angeles later this week.
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