Fleet Foxes at the Fox Oakland, 4/21/09

Fleet Foxes at the Fox.  Thanks to Flickr user Gussifer.
Fleet Foxes at the Fox. Thanks to Flickr user Gussifer.

Robin Pecknold, lead singer of Fleet Foxes, emerges from stage right for an encore after an hour set; he comes wielding his acoustic guitar and a great looking beard. He banters with the crowd of the nearly sold out Fox theater in Oakland, then tell us all that he is going to “do this one without a mic”. He unplugs his guitar and steps up to the very front of the center apron of the stage and begins to play truly acoustically. Robin’s powerful voice emanates through the theater of about twenty-two-hundred perfectly quiet listeners. With a revolving cast of players in the five-piece Seattle-based band, it seems that Pecknold is Fleet Foxes. I enjoy the simplicity of a singular Pecknold in an other wise deeply woven creation of sound. Continue reading “Fleet Foxes at the Fox Oakland, 4/21/09”

Bloc Party at The Fox Oakland, 4/20/09

Kele Okereke catches the light just right
Kele Okereke catches the light just right

The Fox Theater has had a run of sold-out shows over the past few days:  BB King, Band of Horses and Black Keys all sold out the 3000ish capacity Oakland theater within the last week.  Yet Bloc Party hardly sold any seats above the mezzanine level.  I think some folks should have chosen differently;  Bloc Party was the best of them all.  Bloc Party writes songs that beg you to dance, jump, sing along, and get sweaty on a crowded dance floor. And all of this happened on Monday night.

Full disclosure: Continue reading “Bloc Party at The Fox Oakland, 4/20/09”