REVIEW: Foster The People at Summerfest
When you look back at a band like Foster The People’s discography, you might be surprised to find that not only have they released just three albums, but within those three releases, there are a solid number of radio-friendly singles. That was the case on Tuesday night when the band hit the stage at the Miller Lite Oasis, during a prolonged fireworks show, to pandemonium-like screams. The crowd was packed in fairly tightly, and the band brought the energy from the jump to keep the bodies moving.
Frontman Mark Foster made it his duty to be the star of the show, moving across the span of the stage and dancing like he was auditioning to be a retroactive member of New Kids On The Block. With every move, it seemed to set off a wave of screams from the Oasis crowd. Foster didn’t, however, pull attention away fro the rest of The People on stage, either. While bouncing around, he managed to work the stage from station to station, making visits to guitarist Sean Cimino, keyboardist Isom Innis, and a pair of percussionists, both analog and digital.
The set list made you remember that the band are nothing short of indie-pop hit machines, as dance parties broke out early to “Helena Beat”, which segued into “Coming Of Age”. Even the album cuts that the band chose were high-energy; Foster moved about in spasms to “Loyal Like Sid And Nancy” late in the set. There was also a cover of the Ramones classic “Blitzkrieg Bop” that had a good amount of the energy of the recorded version, even if they did cut out a chorus along the way. While the tour was in support of 2017’s “Sacred Hearts Club”, the band has enough solid singles to make their show more of an encompassing retrospective, and that they did.
The set concluded with Foster’s longest monologue of the night, in a politically aimed moment that spoke on the divided times we live in. While good natured, and well received, the rant sort of lost its legs in the latter half. Single “Sit Next To Me” closed out the main set, ensuring the crowd that they would return for “Pumped Up Kicks” in their encore. While the crowd was requesting the song by name, which felt different, the band returned for “I Love My Friends”, a song that fell flat on the crowd. Nevertheless, that was followed by the band’s breakout song, bringing the party to a close.
Foster The People reiterated to the crowd on Tuesday night that they are, in fact, indie pop hit machines. Their energy and enthusiasm matched that statement. and it made for a great show.
