Foals

What better way to break in a fresh pair of five quid plimsoles than at a Foals gig in the new Rough Trade East store?

The lights go out, we cheer ('cos we like it with the lights out) and are confronted with a scene as close as we've been to one of these infamous squat parties we keep hearing about. Spilling off the small makeshift Rough Trade in-store stage and into the audience, I swear Yannis is going to knock the thirtysomething gentleman wearing slacks in the front row square in the face with the metallic headstock of his guitar during a raucous rendition of 'Balloons'. I visualise the blood flying and keep my eye on all escape routes as Yannis launches himself into the crowd for the first of many times this evening. He's excited to play Rough Trade tonight: "I’m glad to see this store open a bit later as when I was younger and actually had some money in my pocket, I went to Portabello Rough Trade only to find it had closed, so I was forced to get a bunch of dodgy tattoos."

Two newer songs aired to the skinny-jean clad crowd (one labeled “our first love song”, the other, single b-side ‘Big Big Love Fig 1’) are markedly different to their previous jittery mathematic offerings. Graceful, even blissful, with delay-ridden guitar parts (reminiscent of late Bloc Party) they are, but always with a solid bass-heavy pop-grove nailed through the very heart. What with recent talks of Afrobeat influences also featuring on the new album (read feature here), it’s definitely something to look forward to.

An old duffer near the front who looks hauntingly similar to Keith Richards grimaces as “those bloody kids” throw themselves around during new single 'Mathletics' like they are piloting their very own personal kamikaze fighter planes. Then as firm crowd favourite 'Hummer' chugs into earshot my bright white pair of plimsoles appear to become their sole targets. The thirtysomething gentleman escapes a decapitation, Keith Richards is witnessed limping from the scene, and my fresh pair of plimsoles are ever closer to real East London street-cred.

Photo: Holly Erskine