Foster The People!

I really didnt know what to expect. A couple of goofballs with a keyboard and a drum playing a poppy little hit about school shootings?

Foster the People rolled thru the area last night at the local casino outdoor venue. Ok its called Stir Concert Cove and its in Iowa because we here in Nebraska have no casinos cuz we are more boring better than you. Foster the People is a band known for a couple of hits concerning school shootings and suicide. Right up my alley.

First things first. I , being elderly by rock standards or any other standards for that matter, am used to people my age and older strutting around on stage with a limited amount of energy (except for you, Bruce or Paul) performing 30-50 year old hits. Its fine. Its great. Its me.

So to see two young bands, ARJ, and Foster, with real energy was refreshing, invigorating in fact. Oh Im not about to rush into the pit full of teens dropped off my Mom and start throwing my arms around. Im perfectly content to sit in my lawn chair and tap my foot.

ARJ, of whom I am not at all familiar, a band of 3 literal brothers, hit the stage first. The lead singer brother, decked out on a 90 degree night in some sort of Russian floppy hat designed for Siberian living bounced around the stage like he actually wanted to be there. Props, buddy. Now if one brother was a lead singer only, what did the other two brothers do? One played a keyboard, and the other played a guitar, yet the "drummer" was banging away like crazy. Wait, there isnt any drummer yet I swear I hear drums. Now I have no idea if there was drummer someplace I couldnt see, or if there was drummer who was a machine. It bugged me. Why? Because I'm just that way. ARJ actually played one song I have actually heard and even did a cover of Lollipop Lollipop to fill out a half hour set. They were not terrible, in fact they were a solid opening act. The kids were going nuts

Foster the People intrigue me. Not really my bag, but with a couple of solid hits and a cheap ticket why not be the oldest person in the venue by 30 years? I love Helena Beat both lyrically and musically. The Lord of the Flies video I love. Its a solid tune.

What happened about halfway thru the hour long show made me sit up and take note. Foster The People rocked the fuck out of the place with a song called Lotus Eater and a cover of Blitzkrieg Bop (which every band should do). Cool.

The band, led by Mark Foster, is a band, if I was 15 again, would remember for a long time. But Im not 15, far from it, but still, it does my heart good to see a young band with a lot of things to say. And to see young people rocking out to someone they can claim as their own is encouraging. Rock is on life support, yes. But like Lazarus, it may rise again.

FTP may be one of the defibrillators it needs. I mean, just the sound of a catchy song about a real life horror like the weekly school shootings is enough to give me hope. Lyrics that mean something. Cool.