At Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl last night (5 March), Fleet Foxes and The National delivered an unforgettable double bill.
As the sun started to set, the crowd gathered 'round to hear one of the most important bands of the new millennium. It's safe to say Fleet Foxes are in a league of their own.Alongside good friend and past tour mate Joanna Newsom, songwriter Robin Pecknold and co. led the mid 2000s folk and Americana revival, refreshing the Myspace era with far more introspective sounds than their indie-rock counterparts.
Four albums and nearly two decades into their career, Fleet Foxes are better than ever. Playing with precision and an intense clarity of purpose, the seven-piece band took to the stage with mandolins, twelve-string guitars, trombone, and more.
To a backdrop of stunning, minimalist visuals designed with Pecknold's brother Sean, the group hopped into 'Sunblind', a beautiful ode to the inspiration gifted by Pecknold's departed influences.
Next came the shimmering single 'Can I Believe You', an illusorily intricate piece of power pop from their latest record, 2020's resplendent 'Shore'.
"Lately, I'm wondering too / What type of desire I can break / When I'm one way with them, one with you / What half is it of me rearranged?"
Following the success of their sophomore record 'Helplessness Blues', the band took a three-year hiatus, with a shuffling of members which saw the departure of drummer and vocalist Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty).
On a personal note, it was during this time that Fleet Foxes were the soundtrack to the six months I spent in India from late 2016. Volunteering at the Samten Tibetan Buddhist Monastery 85km north of Darjeeling, I'd chop firewood, and bamboo to feed the resident horse. Here, I marvelled at the natural beauty of the area, working to the tune of songs like 'Ragged Wood', 'Your Protector', and 'He Doesn't Know Why'.
At the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Fleet Foxes performed this trio of tracks from their debut, one after the other. Seeing these songs live brought tears to the eyes.
On 'He Doesn't Know Why', Pecknold sang: "In the gentle light as the morning nears / You don't say a single word of the last two years / Where you were or when you reached the frontier / I didn't understand, no."
The band's debut LP is one for the world's seekers, littered with songs of weary travellers, wide-eyed lovers, and sprinkled with folk tales. Their years-long pause preceded the release of the earthquake that is 2017's 'Crack-Up', the band's third LP. A storm of a record, it is a dark horse masterpiece, an album harbouring secrets, double meanings, and veiled revelations after innumerable listens.
Live, fans were treated to just one song from 'Crack-Up', their second-most recent album. Thankfully, it was the nine-minute epic, 'Third Of May/Ōdaigahara'.
It's no stretch to argue that Robin Pecknold is among the greatest living songwriters. On 'Crack-Up', the songs frequently incorporate homophones to give lines double meanings, often packing the substance of two songs into one.
Here, the track's 'Third Of May' title holds a double meaning – in part dedicated to the birthday of bandmate Skyler Skjelset, with whom he has shared the stage since the band's earliest days. In tandem, it references Francisco Goya's 1808 painting, honouring the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's forces in the Peninsula War.
"Now, back in our town as a castaway / I'm reminded of the time it all fell in line, on the third of May / As if it were designed, painted in sand to be washed away / Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the centre / Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?"
Naturally, the Christmassy chant of 'White Winter Hymnal' received one of the evening's more resounding sing-alongs. Behind Robin, the band perfectly echoed his innocent canon, with more consistent, grounded, and intentional harmonies than any group I've ever seen.
Observing their recent shows in Sydney, I noticed Fleet Foxes have been alternating a few songs in their sets. One I had hoped for but not expected was 'The Shrine/An Argument', so I felt exceptionally lucky to hear the song's opening plucks.
"I went down among the dust and pollen / To the old stone fountain in the morning after dawn / Underneath were all these pennies, fallen from the hands of children / They were there, and then were gone."
Multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson's brass playing on the song is impeccable. In the track's dissolving bridge, he plays cerebrally avant-garde phrases, dolphin-like squeals which fizzle and splutter, perfectly illustrating the chaos of the narrator's psyche.
Later in the set was 'Going-to-the-Sun Road', the 12th track from 'Shore'. Named after the scenic Rocky Mountain Road in Glacier Park, Montana, the gorgeous tune winds and shifts with nearly as many colourful turns as its breathtaking namesake.
Long-standing bassist Christian Wargo held lead vocal duties for parts of the performance, contributing to the beautiful, communal energy not often heard or seen on today's stages. 'Helplessness Blues' closed the show, with its harmonised poetry preceding a climactic, exultant crescendo.
"What's my name, what's my station? Oh, just tell me what I should do / I don't need to be kind to the armies of night that would do such injustice to you / Or bow down and be grateful and say, "Sure, take all that you see" / To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls and determine my future for me."
In the blink of an eye, it was over. I'd waited many years to attend a Fleet Foxes show, and they made it more worthwhile than I'd ever imagined. After the fog that mired the early years of the 2020s, it was such a relief to finally see this incredible, underrated, anomaly of a band. I deeply love and admire Fleet Foxes, and I walked away from their set with a feeling of intense gratitude.
From the first note it was clear that The National's mix would be more than double the volume of Fleet Foxes. Beginning their 25-song set, the band ripped into 'Sea Of Love', coughing up distortion and treble-heavy guitars into their own personal ocean of adoring fans.
To an elaborate backdrop of grey and black glitches and flashing squares, singer Matt Berninger almost immediately tossed himself into reaching distance of the front rows. As the song's line, "If I stay here, trouble will find me," echoed through the venue, they clearly connected with their followers.
'Squalor Victoria' carried a spark of serious energy, with drummer Bryan Devendorf thumping an impressive tom groove throughout. It was interesting to hear the song performed with more heft than the studio version.
The opening churn of 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' caused a swift stir in the crowd, with hoots and hollers abounding as Berninger sang: "Stand up straight at the foot of your love / I lift my shirt up."
With one guitar strapped on during 'I Need My Girl', guitarist Aaron Dessner hurled, twisted and shoved a second guitar around, generating tuned feedback. Behind him, a backdrop of Northern Lights-esque green swirls swayed to and fro.
Next, the blue light of twin e-bows shone, creating natural harmonic feedback which complemented the glitchy, VCR-esque visuals. Observing the crowd, it appeared the song was hitting some listeners quite deeply, with the most drastic reactions ranging from held-back tears to full-blown bawling.
In 2023, The National released two albums. 'First Two Pages Of Frankenstein' featured contributions from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Phoebe Bridgers. 'Laugh Track', the title song from their second record released in 2023, was certainly a highlight, despite the absence of Bridgers' vocals.
Later in the set the band debuted a new song, tentatively titled 'Bat Child'. Elsewhere, the group were joined by the evening's opening act, the brilliant Annie Hamilton, to perform their electronic infused 'Rylan' from their 2019 record 'I Am Easy To Find'.
The encore, starting with 'Light Years', paced from a quieter, more introspective tone to a more interactive experience with the audience. The shift from the reflective 'Light Years' to the more energetic 'Mr. November' and 'Terrible Love' provided a nice jolt to the proceedings, showcasing the range of The National's vast catalogue.
The grand finale, 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks' invited even more well-received audience participation, ending on another note of collective engagement, as is customary in their performances.
Typically playing between 24 and 28 songs per show on this tour, it's impressive how much of the set The National manage to switch up every night. Notably, despite playing songs from over eight albums, the lengthy show didn't even cover each of their many records.
Last night, The National delivered an extensive, era-spanning performance. Earlier, Fleet Foxes left an indelible mark, haunting for what will surely be weeks to come with their all-too-rare level of sincerity and uncompromising vision. We can only hope to see them again soon.
