Written by Garrison Brister
Most known as a ‘one-hit-wonder’ in the world of pop music, Foster the People is best known for their 2010 debut single, “Pumped Up Kicks.” Although none of their other projects reached anywhere near the overnight fame of that first song, the band is still relatively popular among alternative music, specifically noting their second biggest hit: “Sit Next to Me” in 2017.
The Paradise State of Mind tour followed the release of their newest album of the same name from August 2024. This was their first tour in seven years (besides three consecutive shows at the Wiltern in Los Angeles in 2021 [I was there]). Although their new album was much more electronic than the rest of their discography, it still has the classic Foster the People sound that fans, such as myself, fell in love with over a decade ago.
Walking into the show, the Tabernacle is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever visited. It was a mid-sized venue that was originally a church. It was well organized, too, with multiple bathroom and bar areas, and plenty of space outside of the actual music room. After what felt like a very long opening set from the band Good Neighbours, Foster the People opened the show with “Feed Me,” a funky, Prince-inspired hit off their new album. Though this song is not a favorite of mine, lead singer, Mark Foster, brings a confident stage presence that could make any song enjoyable. His short and simple choreography during the build-up to the chorus combined with the exciting light show behind the band made me eager for the rest to come.
Foster the People is one of my favorite bands to see live. My mom and I have seen them three times now, and they never fail to amaze me. They translate live better than any band I’ve seen. I would argue that they sound much better live than in studio recordings. And, thanks to multi-instrumentalist Isom Innis, even their new synth-heavy songs sound better than ever. They next proceeded to play the lead single off Paradise State of Mind, “Lost in Space.” In my opinion, this should have been the opener. An attention-grabbing song with vocoder-heavy verses followed by a clean chorus that brings them back to their 2010s alternative roots.
They then began to play some of their older music off Torches, which caught much more interest in the crowd. Coming up was my favorite part of the night, the mere three songs from their sophomore album Supermodel, which to me, was about a fifteen minute crying session. They truly used the lighting to tell a story in this portion of the show. This was prominent in “A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon” with red and blue police lights shining on Mark Foster. This is the part of the show where Innis shined on the synths. The psychedelic song “Pseudologia Fantastica” is full of heavy-hitting lyrics in front of an equally passionate instrumental. They followed this set with “Lamb’s Wool,” another beautiful song where Foster’s emotional vocals encapsulate the entire room. The whole audience was quiet for this; which was the most appropriate reaction. It felt like sharing a delicate experience with two thousand people.
Afterwards, an intimate performance of “Houdini,” with Foster sat down at a piano to sing. In the past, they have ended this song with a smooth transition to “Call It What You Want,” which, surprisingly, they did play that song, but skipped the transition. Nonetheless, these are two all-time favorite songs of mine with fun vocals and a lot of crowd interaction. After a mix of Torches and Paradise State of Mind, they finally played a song from their third album: Sacred Hearts Club. “Lotus Eater” is a punk-inspired, guitar-heavy song that transitioned into a minute-long, much slower, ballad, “Time to Get Closer,” before continuing the Torches and Paradise State of Mind cycle until the end of the set.
One detail to note is that this show took place on Mark Foster’s birthday.
Just before the encore, while the band was still backstage, one of the members of the touring crew came on stage with a cake and jumped into a large box covered in wrapping paper. When the band came back out, Foster confusingly opened the box, and the entire crew and audience sang him “Happy Birthday.” Afterwards, the encore began with “Sit Next To Me,” one of my favorites of theirs to hear live. As someone who always sings with passion, Foster’s energy completely changed for the ending song, “Pumped Up Kicks.” He is obviously tired of performing it, and actually made the decision to retire the song following the Sacred Hearts Club Tour in 2018. My best guess is that their new record label has persuaded them to close the show with it, despite the band’s growing hatred for the song. But of course, the crowd loved it. As a fan who has also grown tired of “Pumped Up Kicks,” I at least enjoyed Isom Innis passionately playing the maracas during that song.
Overall, Foster the People put on an astounding performance– as always. And despite the major changes in the band throughout the last couple years, I hope that signing to this new label will give them the opportunity to shine as brightly among the alternative scene as they did throughout the 2010s. I would absolutely 100% recommend seeing them to anyone who loves live music. As soon as their discography falls out of my rotation, seeing them live makes me fall in love with the band all over again. Mark Foster’s passion to perform and stage-confidence captures the attention of everyone in the room. I just wish they would have played more Supermodel.