Hooves on the Turf

The strength of a Fleet Foxes show is the same one you’ll find on their albums: beautiful songs and gorgeous harmonies; and if you aren’t in love with their recordings, you probably won’t fall in love with their shows. Last night, the comfort with which the band sailed through their marvelous songs, and the presence of cool mountain air these songs manage to evoke, was probably best encapsulated by guitarist Skyler Skjelset. His guitar was so crisp and audible, and he plays so many key parts burned in our memory of the songs, that I couldn’t help feeling terrified for him–one small slip of a note and we’d recognize it as if it’d been a personal betrayal. There were no such betrayals, however, and to our delight, the band was also quite chatty. (Update: Videos and more photos from the show)

Squinting at the venue, singer Robin Pecknold began by saying he was nervous; given its name he’d expected Webster Hall to be “hoity-toity”, but had found it to be rather “caz“. Skyler–the only one without a microphone–pointed to a person’s cutout he’d pasted by his feet on the floor, and suggested that Robin look to that feller for comfort. The rest of the band joined in; someone in the audience said “imagine us naked”, Robin asked if that had really worked for anyone, and so on; a quick gauge of those who’d been at the previous night’s show followed before Robin perked his ears to someone who yelled “Rock!” from the balcony. “Yes, good idea,” he said with a broad smile and a wagging finger. The show began with no further delay, as the band bloomed into the gorgeously-harmonized “Sun Giant” in a cappella.

Several questions from the audience were answered between songs, from which we learned that Robin had visited  “your Williamsburg” earlier (others seemed to have spent over seven hours at the venue). He seemed struck by the variety of coffee in general, professing his preference for plain, old drip coffee, saying, It’s not like coffee is a sandwich. Someone yelled “That’s Seattle’s fault”, with which he expressed cheerful agreement. A song later, he apologized to any coffee enthusiasts present, clarifying that his comments weren’t aimed at the particular (“quite nice”) cafe they’d visited. Keyboardist Casey Wescott accused him of making things worse.

My favorite moment was probably the “unplugged” rendition of “Katie Cruel”, which Robin sang without amplification when he came out for an encore–there’s definitely something magical that amplification takes away from the voice, so the bold reclamation of it felt like war (apparently he’d done this the night before, too; there were some who’d already requested “unplugged” earlier in the show). Robin asked those at the back to give a thumbs-up if they heard “Katie Cruel” alright; those thumbs swung up to convey reassurance, but someone from the front part of the balcony requested “Katie Cruel” right then, which confused everyone. A wave of “boo” erupted amongst laughs, prompting Robin to simply say, “I don’t know what just happened”.

There was also a request from someone to have his/her babies. “How many?” bassist Christian Wargo asked, following it up with, “Not in this economy”. Though Casey reminded him that they’d agreed to exclude politics, Robin couldn’t help bursting into a sudden, soft-spoken rant later in the show about accusations against “him” (the name was never mentioned) for his ties with the “Weather Underground guy”. Nobody responded* to it except for a few “bullshit!” from the balcony, but Casey thanked the audience for not welcoming every political comment with a cheer: “Those Oprah moments can get awkward”. *I didn’t realize what he had said until much later.

The set itself felt short, but the generous encore more than made up for it. We heard a new, “incomplete” song, and were told that the band would be taking time off to record after the tour.

Opening the show was the amazing Frank Fairfield from Los Angeles. Switching between a banjo, a guitar and a fiddle, he played the kind of songs that demand that you let your heart be gripped in their presence. You won’t enjoy them otherwise.

I might have some point-and-shoot videos to post if they came out okay.