I’ve been a Foster the People fan for a while now. After one of my favorite bands that I had loved for over 6 years broke up, I was looking for a someone or something to fill the musical void in my heart and Foster the People was the answer. I had seen them at Lollapalooza not knowing who they were except for what my good friend Tess had told me. A few short weeks later I had heard “Pumped Up Kicks” on the radio and was hooked and by hooked I mean “I’m going to play this song so many times that my roommate has to ban it from any further shower radio playlists” of course.

When I heard Foster the People was coming to Chicago I was super excited. And then I remembered that I was jobless and poor throughout the school year. The Parental Units probably wouldn’t be up for hooking me up with the extra cash. With my luck of course, both shows sold out. I was pretty hopeless at that point.

But then one day, the heavens opened up and a sparkling beam of light streamed down upon my phone and the angels sang out in what was a text message from that good friend Tess saying, “I have an extra ticket to Foster the People. I know you like them. Would you want to go?” to which I replied in an overwhelming frenzy of excitement “JDKHFJSDHFJSKDH. YES. YES. YES.” And the cosmos were then realigned.

The concert was held at The Congress Theater, a place that’s been open since the dawn of time. My dad was telling me how he used to see shows there too. This kind of excited me because vintage theaters are super awesome. Turns out my excitement was legitimate because the theater was old, beautiful, and asking for instagram pictures. We managed to get there on time and have decent spots in the crowd, maybe 30 feet from the stage.

By 6:00 the place was getting pretty packed and the opening acts were starting. First off was Kimbra, mainly known for her verse in Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know.” I had never really listened to her, but her eclectic style definitely made for an interesting show. The Tokyo Police Club was next. I’d never listened to them either (shame on me). They had great stage presence and I found their music really catchy. The good thing about seeing opening acts you’ve never heard of is that you have something to go home and endlessly Google. There’s nothing like a good new music find.

[photogallerylink id=102196 align=left]It seemed like it’d been forever once Foster the People’s set finally started, but that’s only because I’m extremely impatient and overly excitable. Because they only have one album, Torches, it was basically guaranteed that they’d sing my and every other fans’ favorite songs. Can’t argue with those odds! They were fantastic live, only proving their raw talent. Mark Foster, the lead singer, has an unbelievably attention grabbing stage presence. It is pretty much impossible to look away once he starts dancing. Other members Cubbie Fink and Mark Pontius couldn’t have looked more engulfed in their music. Their stage display was seriously awesome as well. They had a giant sun shaped light display in the left hand corner that would open to reveal a sort of “mascot” and doubled as a live feed of video from the tip of Foster’s microphone. The light show along with the music featured a unique color scheme that I found particularly entrancing (weird, but so true). The crowd was great as well. One of the most “happy-to-be-there” crowds I’ve been in. I even had a guy look over at me excitedly as a song was starting and ask me if I was “ready to boogie.” After going through their many hits including “Houdini,” “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls),” and “I Would Do Anything For You,” they ended the show with an overwhelmingly spectacular and extended performance of “Pumped of Kicks” that included a giant inflatable monster and a considerable amount of confetti. In that moment I went right back to when I had first heard that song and when I was offered those tickets and I danced around under the colorful shredded paper with a feeling of utter happiness.

I walked out of the concert repeating consistently “OH MY GOD. THAT WAS AMAZING” as did Tess. There’s just something about seeing one of your favorite bands live that really sets your soul on fire. If your ever considering seeing Foster the People, stop considering and GO.

Free MP3 Download: Foster The People – “Pumped Up Kicks” (MNDR Remix)

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