If you look at the “Musical style” section of Foster The People’s Wikipedia page, you’ll get a list of subgenres trying to nail down the specific way to describe their sound. But genre definitions are becoming more and more meaningless, as Foster The People themselves prove. From upbeat indie pop with deceptively dark lyrics, to remixing celebrated pop acts like Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey, to collaborating with Deadmau5 all the way to sharing the stage with The Beach Boys at the Grammy Awards, it’s okay to not quite be sure how to classify them. So it’s not really a surprise that when we sat down with Mark Foster and Isom Innis to talk about their favorite concert memories, their answers seemed at odds with each other but somehow fit perfectly. Just watch and see what we mean:
Nine Inch Nails
Mark Foster: Nine Inch Nails. When was that show?
Isom Innis: 2015? 14?
Mark Foster: Yeah, it was at the Staples Center. It's one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Isom Innis: It felt like being in a video game or something.
Mark Foster: Yeah. The production was next level. There was kind of a see-through screen in the front of the stage that you could see them behind.
Isom Innis: And I remember they had the drum machine, they programmed it live and you were following along with it as the track was going and they were manipulating it and it was just insane.
Mark Foster: Their front of house guy was doing this thing where when the band would stop... A, the band was incredibly tight, so when they would hit a stop, it was like it was perfect. But then their front of house would mute. And it would create this extra silence of depth. And they did that fast. It would be like, JGGHH! Silence. BOOM! Silence. BOOM! Silence. It was just really dynamic. That blew me away. I've never seen anything like that.
Sting and Peter Gabriel
Mark Foster: So this was at the Hollywood Bowl. Sting and Peter Gabriel together. They did a short run together called the Rock Paper Scissors Tour. The reason being was that they were on stage together with their bands at the same time. They went back and forth through their catalogs. It was a pretty special format.
Isom Innis: I remember we had great seats. We were in that perfect area in front of the stage.
Mark Foster: Their music really complemented each other because Peter would break everybody’s hearts and just bring so much soul and this dark mysterious mood. And you'd just be like, really open. It was so authentic. And then Sting would get everybody out of their seats and there would be just so much joy.
Isom Innis: It was really mind blowing.
Mark Foster: Oh, my God, can’t forget about this. So I run into a friend at the show, and he was like, “Do you want to come to the afterparty?” It's at a restaurant next door. And I was like, “Yeah, sure.” And so we go to this afterparty after the show, And I remember they had these little lobster roll hor d'oeuvres that were covered in butter. So I had one and my hands were covered in butter, so I go into the bathroom to wash my hands, and it’s Sting. He’s in there at the urinal, kind of finishing up. And I walk in as he turns and we just lock eyes. And he's looking at me and it's kind of a pregnant pause to where I have to say something. And I was just like, “Hey man, you know, that was an incredible show tonight.” And he just like turns, and he's like, “Yeah, you know,” He’s like, “Gotta pay the bills!” (laughs) So good, I'll never forget that. I'm just like, “Don't you live in a castle?” What do you mean “You got to pay the bills?” But you want that from him too. You're like, “Well, you know, he was a teacher. Even though he's been famous for 40 years, he still feels grounded.”
Foster The People just released their fourth studio album, Paradise State of Mind, on the 16th. No word on a full tour to support it, yet, but the band has a few dates scheduled through October, including DJ sets spanning London, Kingston upon Thames, Los Angeles and Austin. You can check out those dates and buy tickets on their official website. And keep an eye out for future show announcements on Setlist.fm!
