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

“Helen Wheels”

Paul McCartney | 1973

A rollicking good-time hard rocker, "Helen Wheels" was not about a woman but about Paul McCartney's Land Rover, the anthemic chorus voicing the vehicle's reckless joy as "she" took to the road. The song was added to the U.S. version of Band on the Run but was issued only as a single in McCartney's native U.K. "I like that because it's a British road song and there's not many of those around," said McCartney. "It's always Route 66. But Carlisle? How many songs have got Carlisle in them?"

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