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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Foster the good music: Indie-pop band rocked The Rialto

    	Courtesy of C. Elliot / Foster the People, an indie rock trio, performs at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday.
    C.ELLIOTT

    Courtesy of C. Elliot / Foster the People, an indie rock trio, performs at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday.

    If your friends were at Coachella last weekend or are heading out for it this weekend, hopefully you took the opportunity to experience the music scene that came right to our own backyard. Over the past week, Foster the People took a hiatus from performing at the notorious music festival to perform at Tucson’s own Rialto Theatre.

    The sold-out show drew in an eclectic audience of all ages who packed the floor in front of a psychedelically decorated stage with flashing light-up crystals, reminiscent of the Tucson Gem and Jam stage decor.

    The high-energy band stormed the stage and its signature electronic-inspired, indie-pop music blared over the speakers. What you might think is autotuned is actually just the real sound of the lead singer Mark Foster’s voice.

    Although some of Foster’s songs seemed to blur together with their similar electronic tones and fast-paced beats, there were a few monumental moments that broke up the show, one of which was the performance of “Houdini.”

    “We’ve never done this before,” Foster said. “This is new for me, too.”

    Instead of playing “Houdini”’s usual synth sounds, Foster strummed the melody on an acoustic guitar, accompanied by a tambourine and some back-up vocals. The alternative performance shone, highlighting the thoughtful lyrics of the song and inviting the audience to feel the full emotion behind every line. The most memorable of the lyrics: “Sometimes I want to disappear.”

    Predictably, the second-most memorable moment from the concert was the performance of the band’s most widely known song, “Pumped Up Kicks.” The band’s breakout song ruled the Billboard Hot 100 charts at No. 3 for eight weeks during 2011. Besides being highly catchy, it also received a lot of attention for the meaning behind its lyrics; Foster wrote the song from the perspective of a troubled youth with homicidal thoughts.

    Despite the dark premise behind the lyrics, the crowd belted out every word and cheered wildly for the band’s most popular song.

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