Fleet Foxes performed in Riverfront Park on Sunday, June 23 as part of HU Presents’ Summer Concert Series.
Amid smatterings of rain and a thunderstorm sitting on the horizon, Seattle indie-folk band Fleet Foxes delivered a formidable performance on Sunday, making a seven-piece band feel like an orchestra of 30.
The night, hosted by Harrisburg University Presents as part of its Summer Concert Series, began with Brazilian indie singer and guitarist Tim Bernardes, whose impressive falsetto rang out across Riverfront Park like bird calls. His songs, some of which included “BB (Garupa de Moto Amarela)” and “Recomeçar,” were exclusively sung in Portuguese, transporting the audience to his hometown of São Paulo.
While most of the crowd might not have been able to understand the lyrics, they gave plenty of applause after each song—in other words, his musicality was sharp enough to break the language barrier. At around 8:40 p.m., Bernardes said his thanks, then headed off the stage just as the sun ducked beneath the distant mountains.
It wasn’t long before the main act made their presence known, opening with “Sun It Rises,” the first track of their 2008 album “Fleet Foxes.” This was not your average, all-out-energy kind of opener, but rather one that highlighted their tight harmonies and ethereal world-building.
The next songs, “Grown Ocean” and “Ragged Wood,” brought the punch instead, all anthemic toms and lead singer Robin Pecknold’s cut-through-anything tenor. Songs like “Your Protector” and “Third of May / Ōdaigahara” continued the vigor but with more introspection and mystery created by modulating chord progressions and eerie melodies.
Popular track “White Winter Hymnal” was a classic staple on their setlist, while “Blue Ridge Mountains” prompted the loudest audience sing-along.
My personal favorite of the night, which encompassed the folk sound that I consider to be the band at its best—choral oohs and big drums—was “Mykonos.” By that point, a gentle rain was falling, occasionally passing in front of the colorful lights, framing the group in a cinematic nature. They sang hard but not strained, something that can be difficult to keep control of live.
It feels important to note that several members of the band had a constant rotation of instruments cycling through their hands. Take multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson, for example, who alone played upright bass, flute, saxophone and percussion at some point in the evening. Whether the song required swift, unnerving woodwind trills or a tasteful shake of the tambourine, the band was on it.
Equally charming as their music were their interactions with the audience. Pecknold was sure to politely thank the crowd twice after each song, and when a fan called out that it was their birthday, the trombonist launched into a comical rendition of the birthday song with the rest of the band joining in by the end.
It was clear that this kind of venue was right where the band belonged—their vibrant lyrical story-telling resonating across the river, trains passing on the bridge above, a faithful audience weathering storms below—because it felt like a scene that they might have written into a song.
For more information about HU Presents and their upcoming concerts, visit their website.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
