Photo Credit: Jeff Jewiss
It’s nice when you arrive at the venue just as the band demanding your attendance is setting up on stage. Watching as each member goes through the pre-set routine they’ve mastered as a craft you can’t help but feel some anticipation as the PA crackles and the nervous smiles creep over each member’s face. Fool’s Gold soon created expectations for themselves as the El Mocambo floor filled in accordance with the stage; this eleven member jam session of a band has quite the presence.
Potentially wary of their image, but more importantly bringing the focus to the music and subtly inviting audience members to interact with each other, the band had the stage lights dimmed as they began the first song. It was quickly apparent that Hebrew lyrics aside, the quirky melodies and driving rhythms had us forgetting ourselves through head bobs and enthusiastic dancing almost immediately. The crowd was there with intent and not idle curiosity. It was proclaimed that this show marked their first show in the city; you couldn’t help but doubt these musicians each bore numerous tours under their belts and enjoyed the view from the stage. Listen to almost any Fool’s Gold song and you’ll hear a wide variety of influences and long, bright melodies that will leave you itching to label them a jam band.
Armed with as little as a couple MySpace listening sessions of their material, it was easy to pick out songs and determine crowd favourites. “Surprise Hotel” is a blatantly obvious choice with the Tropical vibe that seems to define Fool’s Gold and it’s no joke that people love this song. The front of the stage was vibrating and fans were moving to match its pace. Once the beat picked up and held its course no one wanted the song to end. After a number of high energy songs and plenty of dancing the whole gang was called on stage for the drawn out finale. This was a show worth attending and music that can’t be fully appreciated from in front of your computer.
For more Fool’s Gold,
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/foolsgold
