The popular indie pop band Foster The People performed last month at Chicago’s Congress Theater, after an astounding opening by New Zealand singer Kimbra, and indie band Tokyo Night Club. All acts exceeded my expectations going into the show, even those of the openers, whom I had not heard preceding the night.
Kimbra, an international sensation based in Melbourne, started the night off with zest. She has the spunk, melodies and lyrics to make it in the music industry. All of her potential came together in her Bucktown performance. Aside from her somewhat aloof affect, she was a great entertainer. She danced to her songs perfectly, knowing all the beats and elements of her songs to a T. Impressively, she danced, sang and also used special effects together to make a recorded sound right on stage without autotuning her songs, as some artists have been known to do. Before the concert, I thought Kimbra was just some annoying kid from Oceania that wanted to make money. After seeing the passion she put into singing her music, she’s now on my list of favorite new artists.
After Kimbra’s performance, indie group Tokyo Night Club stepped up to the plate. The atmosphere of Congress made it clear to all that this new group will be a fan favorite. Most of the people surrounding me had not heard of these guys before, but after that night it was obvious that iTunes would be making a fortune on Tokyo Night Club downloads. With a sound like the groups Coldplay, and Foster The People; TNC proved themselves worthy of a good review on northstarnews.org. Their crowd interaction, lyrics, music and aura combined to entrance the audience. No one, including myself was left unpleased.
Finally, the group that some hardcore fans waited upon for hours came out. Led by the talented Mark Foster, Foster The People rocked our worlds just by making an appearance. Lead man Mark Foster not only covered vocals, but played synthesizer, drums and guitar — at different times, of course. FTP played 14 fan favorites, including “Miss You,””Life on a Nickel,” “Helena Beat,” “Warrior” (featuring Kimbra) and “Houdini.”  After playing their main set they played an encore of “Ruby,” as well as the highly regarded tune “Pumped up Kicks.” The band made it obvious to all that they loved entertaining, and making beautiful music. At the close of the grand finale to “Pumped up Kicks,” Foster walked offstage and into the crowd where scores of screaming girls got the opportunity to touch various parts of FTP’s leading man. Foster the People were better than anything I could’ve ever expected in a live performance. The recorded versions’ clarity does its listeners a solid, but nothing like the live stylings of Foster’s onstage synthesizing of beats and background bass lines that were necessary to complement his band’s music, and lyrics.

Make sure to check out the Gallery of photos from the event by clicking the link below!

https://www.northstarnews.org/galleries/?album=all&gallery=22