Concert review - Fleet Foxes at Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Fleet Foxes

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Concert review by John Corser

The soaring harmonies of Seattle's Fleet Foxes delighted fans who packed the Civic Hall.

The six-piece band presented a set packed with folk-tinged tunes from their first two albums.

Favourites from eponymous debut Fleet Foxes including White Winter Hymnal, Your Protector, Sun It Rises and He Doesn't Know Why attracted most applause in the main 80-minute performance.

Newer songs from Helplessness Blues, particularly Montezuma and Sim Sala Bim, were also well received but the stand out was early favourite Mykonos, which got the audience joining in.

Long pauses between songs for changing instruments and constant re-tuning meant the concert lacked pace, but singer and songwriter Robin Pecknold was in superb voice.

The band ended the main set with Blue Ridge Mountain before Robin Pecknold returned on his own for the encore to play the achingly beautiful Oliver James, with the rest of the band joining him to deliver a storming Helplessness Blues to finish the night.

The quiet sections of some songs were marred by people who preferred to chat rather than listen to the music.