Foals Inspire Saturday Afternoon Dancing, Hydration

Foals made it all but impossible to stand still during a caffeinated set that crossed new-wave tunefulness and sharp bursts of post-punk noise. In persuading the crowd to clap and jump in unison with the music, the Oxford quintet led by example. Vocalist Yannis Philipakkis marched in place during verses and convulsed into a blur of elbows and knees when he got the chance. Perhaps most importantly, the quintet realized the quickest way to fans' hearts: free water. They tossed out bottles of the clear stuff when they weren't busy locking into the hypnotic "Cassius," pogoing through "Hummer" or flirting with math-rock on "Two Steps Twice."

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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