Foxygen Bring Brass and Sass to Vancouvers Rickshaw
written by Scotty Evil
As a frontman, if you are going to channel Mick Jagger, that’s certainly an entertaining place to start.
And Foxygen Sam France holds nothing back: from the pouty lips to the hip-swagger and pelvic tilting, you’d swear he was a long-lost love child with the Stones frontman and David Bowie.
The diverse crowd at the Rickshaw Theatre on Thursday night lapped it up with giant cartoon tongues. Having been warmed up by quirky quartet The Reptaliens and their accessible brand of prog-pop (replete with reptile mascot and overactive fog machines) the fans were ready to kick it up a notch.
Foxygen delivered from the get-go, launching into “We Are 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic” where France posed and pursed for the photogs up front. Female vocalist Jackie Cohen swayed coquettishly then provided the answer vocals during “San Francisco”. “She’d be big in Japan,” I overheard someone commenting on her performance.
4 songs in they launched into the lead single, “Follow the Leader”, from their latest studio album, “Hang”. By this time the full house was bopping and grooving along. They continue on with more tracks from the album, with Jonathan Rado tearing into a guitar solo on “Mrs. Adams”.
A few songs later, France dons a black blazer ala Johnny Cash. He launches into a mocking and ironic diatribe about record execs. “They keep telling me to be more political with my music. I told ‘em I just want to sell more records, man.”
Ending off the set with an indulgent instrumental jam, they returned with a 4 song encore.
With all the Foxygen out of the room, the only thing left to do was go dancing in the streets.
5/5
ps If the Reptaliens hit it big, buy stock in fog machines. Just sayin’.
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written by Scotty Evil all photos by Scotty Evil
