A Different Kind of Fox: Fleet Foxes Live

I’ve always appreciated The Fleet Foxes. They are, at least to my ears, best described as an alternative folk band. Their vocal harmonies remind me of the all-male choirs in churches and cathedrals, and their songs are produced in such a way that reflects this type of sound - very grand in their simplicity.

However, having a record so well produced makes playing the songs live very difficult (*cough* Britney *cough*) especially if the artists in question actually have artistic integrity and are not the lip-synching type. Because of this, I was quite keen on watching them live in the Sydney Opera House, a magnificent venue that is not known for its acoustics especially with bands.

Well, the end result is that they are good live, but as expected, they are not the same live. The songs take a different life of their own, and their performance is much more dynamic. The strength of the lead vocals is usually masked in the albums but only because of how the songs are produced. If you hear him live, you know he has great pipes and his unconventional techniques certainly suit the songs.

The only thing that brings their performance down is that the three singers still have to work on their presence onstage in between songs. Really exceptional bands know how to “work the crowd” so that people are not left twiddling and waiting to see what happens next. The drummer did his best and it did work from time to time, but truly not enough to really connect with the crowd - it was bad enough that the concert was at a venue that dictated a certain stiff decorum, but to leave the audience detached meant they could not warm up to the band more. Mind you, they were appreciative for sure, but they were far from fanatical.

One more thing is that the pianist really was ill-placed in some songs. I felt that in some parts, he was just a little bit slower than the band, and it dragged the song a bit. They still sounded alright, but for an prominent instrument to follow the harmony is quite risky, and I certainly think it did not pay off in songs that should have sounded astounding.

All in all though, I would rate that as 4/5 slices. It was still an enjoyable experience and I certainly admire bands that provide an experience that is different to what one would normally expect.