Foreign Born - The Bell House 08.03.09

Post-All Points West Friday, I felt like all my energy and enthusiasm for live music were drained out of me. I don't know how you 3-day ticket holders did it. I missed a whole bunch of awesome weekend happenings like No Deachunter and M Ward, and I almost bailed on going to see Foreign Born at The Bell House. Thankfully, Hippies Are Dead reminded me of how much they enjoyed seeing Foreign Born at The Independent, so I got my act together and started walking to the venue.

This show was the last one of the nearly month-long North American tour of Foreign Born and The Veils. Spirits were high, and the band was downing shots at the beginning of their set. Although the audience at the Bell House was sparse after The Veils, Foreign Born seemed to enjoy themselves so much that I couldn't help but smile. I guess APW didn't squash the love of live music out of me. In an earlier post, I shared the highly repeatable "Early Warnings." Truth be told, Person to Person is full of little lines that find a way to bury themselves into your memory. The catchiness of the album became more obvious to me during the Foreign Born set, with each song having an addicting guitar riff. Some of you would disagree with me, but I really believe that the upper-range guitar lines are the isolating factor for why Foreign Born leaves an impression on listeners while sounding pleasant to the ears. Now, if we could only get them to abandon their seizure-inducing stage lights, maybe I would be able to pay more attention to what's happening onstage.

Also posted below is a saccharine summer song called "Surprise Hotel" by Fool's Gold. Fool's Gold includes two members of Foreign Born, as well as former members of We Are Scientists, The Fall, and Glasser. Micachu & The Shapes recently remixed the song, also below.


Early Warnings - Foreign Born

Surprise Hotel - Fool's Gold

Surprise Hotel (Micachu & The Shapes Remix) - Fool's Gold (via RCRD LBL)