When it was announced Foals would be headlining Reading & Leeds Festivals - or rather co-headlining with Disclosure - there were many eyebrows raised.
Sure, there were equally as many who saw the rise of the Oxford five-piece into such lofty rock real estate as overdue, and a refreshing change from the usual names who headline these events. But they were equally as many who seemed to wonder if it was still too soon, and not least given the band is still yet to get a Number One album on the UK album charts.
Nevertheless, four albums in and with a long list of sing-a-longs in their favour, the band are now breaking into the arena rock circuit. Fresh of taking their production to several other of the UK's big indoor halls, an arrival at Wembley Arena had the air of being a very big deal.
Yet while Foals make no special setlist changes just with it being Wembley - no Hummer, for one - the band look genuinely amazed to be here. Certainly, this is reflected when frontman Yannis Philippakis introduces oldie Balloons by remarking how the band went from Oxford house parties in 2006/07 to selling out 12,000+ tickets to this shindig.
The band certainly begin with confidence. Opener Snake Oil is a snarling beast that starts with just synths and syncopated percussive loops, before drummer Jack Bevan wanders onto the stage and replaces the loops with drums, and the rest of the band then join in to knock out the swaggering rock riffs.
Things keep going from there. Olympic Airways shimmers, with the high guitars and staccato drumwork that dominated the band's early work and lead to their math-rock tag, while third track My Number is the cue for moshpits, and is thrust forward on every note of Walter Gervers' throbbing bassline.
An outsider wandering in could mistake Foals for a band who have been in this circuit for longer, as their soundscape comfortably fills the arena while not compromising the intricacies of the music and the band have a tightly-knit feel. The newer Mountain At My Gates is a huge beast filled with a mix of intricate and pummeling guitars, plus a long line of choruses instead of verses, while video screens hover and monitor above the band's heads and lasers search out the back row.
There may be the odd pacing issue - while Birch Tree and Give It All are pleasant listens that translate very well live, they probably could've gone later than fourth and fifth, and after My Number - but the band for the most part get it right. Mountain... gives way to Balloons, the snarling but bouncy Providence, and the understated beauty of Spanish Sahara, and the crowd eats it up.
The morph from Spanish Sahara to the spindly Red Socks Pugie is also played with an almost sheer-effortlessness, and such coherence is also a plus point in favour of the suggestion the band is ready to do the big festival slots.
Its a compelling view, and the end of the main set brings it to primacy, with the tumbling singalong of "What Went Down" closer A Knife in the Ocean then followed up by Inhaler. The latter's surging riffs, and extended outro is the cue for bedlam in the rows immediately up front, who pogo as if their lives depend on it, while it also generates the night's biggest singalong.
For some bands, ending with such a large ending would be the cue for an exit for good, but after a brief respite, the band return for a three song encore. It begins with the subtle piano-led London Thunder, then morphs into the pummelling riffs of What Went Down itself.
An extended Two Steps Twice - during which Yannis jumps in the crowd for the sixth time of the gig, and this time with added crowdsurf - brings the curtain down on the night. For some, this might be played out, given Foals have been closing most of their gigs with this one since their first album Antidotes appeared. But it defiantly works as closer, and is seen off with a huge blast of ticket tape and streamers that (mostly) get stuck in the roof of the venue.
At the end of all, the main conclusion to be drawn is that Foals put on an excellent ride of a gig, and contrary to the negative opinion of some, the band are very much at home in the big roles. For a band on their first arena tour, they look at home and fill the space massively effectively.
As Philippakis waves goodbye by saying "we should do it again sometime" and engage in a guitar duel with the rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith, presumably the next step is to conquer more of the shows on their tour itinerary. If the A-game comes to Reading and Leeds in August, the doubters will be very much eating their words.
4/5
