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“Run through the forest, settle before the sun”
The Fleet Foxes showcase their powerful, genre-bending melodies at the Pabst Theater
By Jason Corning
While encompassing a dizzying array of styles including folk, pop, choral, gospel, traditional Japanese, and baroque psychedelic, Fleet Foxes employs soaring harmonies and brilliantly crafted melodies to create a completely unique, yet familiar sound.
For thousands of years musicians have relied upon the songs of their forefathers to follow and emulate. The story of American popular music is one that spans centuries and continents, tracing its roots likewise to the boroughs of Western Europe as the plains of Western Africa. Historically, American folk and blues players have strayed little from their respective Appalachian or Mississippi Delta roots, and the style and subject matter of even newly penned songs remain consistent with those traditional songs of antiquity.
While these modern folk and blues songs appeal to our culture’s curious obsession with nostalgia, it is in the hands of more inventive bands that traditional music really becomes alive and relevant in today’s society.
This is where the Fleet Foxes come in. Hailing from Washington State, home of both the Cascade Mountains and Sir Mix-a-Lot, this talented quintet is an example of a clear bridge between the traditional American folk and a thoroughly modern sense of genre-bending individualism.
While encompassing a dizzying array of styles including folk, pop, choral, gospel, traditional Japanese, and baroque psychedelic, Fleet Foxes employs soaring harmonies and brilliantly crafted melodies to create a completely unique, yet familiar sound.
It was this pleasant concoction that the group brought to the Pabst Theater. Following a compelling opening act by roots-revivalist Frank Fairfield, the Fleet Foxes kept a surprisingly rowdy crowd at bay with excellent selections from their debut EP “Sun Giant” and their subsequent eponymous LP.
Opening strongly with “Sun Giant,” the band set the tone for a casual yet tightly composed show with stunning four part harmonies and gripping melodies. In a definitive preview of the dynamic performance to follow, the band followed the comparatively sparse opening song with the soaring “Sun It Rises,” the first song off their full-length album.
Nearly every song included in the set showcased an impressive element of the group, whether it be the tribal toms of “Drops in the River’ or the Jeff Buckley influences of “Your Protector.”
Two impressive covers came later in the set during lead singer Robin Pecknold’s solo portion. The first, a cover of Judee Sill’s “Crayon Angel” was on opportunity for the singer and guitarist to finger pick along to more subdued vocals. “Crayon Angel” lead seamlessly into an a cappella “Oliver James,” one of the more powerful moments of the show.
The first song of the encore was the traditional “Katie Cruel” from the Revolutionary War period. In an incredible display of vocal power, Pecknold sang to the packed theater without the microphone, belting the story of a spurned woman in a man’s world while strumming the guitar for rhythm. The crowd was impressed, and the theater filled with enthusiastic ovation.
One particularly pumped audience member humorously requested “Boots of Spanish Leather… do it!” In a convincing display of charm and spontaneity, Pecknold went right into the classic Dylan tune without hesitation, stopping after the first verse and conceding “That’s all I can remember…”
To wrap things up, the rest of the band joined Pecknold onstage to perform the rootsy “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and “Blue Ridge Mountain,” as well as a new song titled “Silver City.”
The Fleet Foxes proved immensely entertaining and pleasantly consistent in their execution and charismatic stage presence. Demonstrating a firm grasp of their roots and musical origins, this up and coming group may have the ability to truly change the landscape of American modern music. Fifty years from now, folk singers may be singing these songs, and we can say we heard them first.
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