TORCHES TRIUMPHS WITH FOSTER THE PEOPLE

Mark Foster of Foster the People at the Wiltern, LA by Jacob Alvarez

THE BAND PLAYED THEIR DEBUT LP IN FULL FOR THE FIRST TIME, CELEBRATING 10 YEARS

If you listened to stations like KROQ and Alt 98.7 in LA around 2011, odds are you stumbled across a little song called “Pumped Up Kicks.” With a dark subject matter and catchy hook, the song took the country by storm, putting indie band Foster the People on many’s radar.

Now 10 years later, their debut album Torches has proved to be a solid work of art in the field of alternative rock. The band announced earlier this year that they would be celebrating the album’s decade anniversary with a few shows at the Wiltern in LA. Night one brought an extensive line of fans that wrapped around the building, with characters from the album cover scattered around the venue for photo ops. Exclusive merch was also on deck with a select amount of signed posters available too.

Doors opened at 7pm and the band came on at 9pm. The venue was flooded with a sold out audience, and once the lights dimmed, singer Mark Foster and his band walked on stage and immediately ripped into “Lamb’s Wool” and “Coming of Age” off Lonely Heart’s Club and Supermodel respectively. After the opening tracks, Foster took to his mic, saying he had no words to describe the feeling he had, and so with that, he led the musicians into Torches.

Opening track “Helena Beat” brought the nostalgia of hearing it on the radio for the first time as well as having it in a plethora of movies such as the party scene in 21 Jumpstreet. Then “Pumped Up Kicks” got the entire crowd chanting, from the pit to the mezzanine. Deep cuts that usually don’t get played like “Waste” and “I Would Do Anything for You” were performed to perfection, considering everyone besides Foster is not a founding member of the band.

The LP was played in full, and then bonus tracks that Foster stated fans got to hear if they bought the record in 2011 either in Japan or at Target ended the Torches set. Before those two tracks were played, however, Foster once again showed his sincere gratuity to the audience that showed up, bringing him to tears. He talked of being in a dark place when most of the record was being recorded, and how he has been lucky to meet many fans who shared their stories and how the album affected their lives. He wanted more than anything to bring hope into peoples’ lives with the album, and by the look of the event, he did just that 10 years running.

During the performance of my favorite track “Broken Jaw,” Foster cut the track to bring medical attention to a fan in the pit. The entire band stopped and the room fell silent until the audience member was carried out by medics. “Art should bring more life to you, not take it away,” Foster exclaimed to the appreciation of the audience, due to the tragedy that struck Astroworld Festival a few weeks prior. The band then went back into the track from the top.

Already 15 songs in, the band came out for an encore to play fan favorite “Pseudologia Fantastic” off their second LP and then finished off strong with two tracks off their latest record, “Sit Next to Me” and “Lotus Eater” complete with a neon pink sign that bared the title of the album. The show was filled with colored lights, Torches inflatable characters, and a self-aware Mark Foster, which all added up to a lovely night of true music appreciation. Check out the set list here!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!