On a warm summer night in the middle of downtown Portland, OR, Fleet Foxes took the stage at PDX Live in the Pioneer Courthouse Square. The chatter and energy of the crowd was buzzing as this was the final show of the PDX Live season. The sunset was beautiful, and the weather was just right, which made this the perfect environment to take in the spiritual experience of seeing Fleet Foxes live. 

As the first strum of Robin’s guitar rang out on the opening song, “Sun Giant,” the crowd cheered. The band brought out opening artist, Uwade, on this song to help sing. As the set list went on we got to hear crowd favorites such as, “Bedouin Dress,” “Montezuma,” and “Ragged Wood.” During “White Winter Hymnal” we got to experience a special moment where the band invited a fan on stage to play guitar with them. 

The set went on and you could tell everyone in the audience was just mesmerized by the beautiful instrumentation coming from the band. Robin is supported in Fleet Foxes by Skyler Skjelset (guitar), Casey Wescott (piano), Christian Wargo (bass) and Morgan Henderson (saxophone/percussion). The vibe and overall performance being put on is on another level, as mentioned previously, a spiritual experience if you will. 

This comes from both the way the minor and major keys of the songs progress across a multi-instrumentation level. The lyrics ring true to many experiences that fans can connect with and the vibrato of Robin’s voice live is truly a heavenly experience. 

Overall, Fleet Foxes puts on an amazing and well rounded show. For fans that have been around for a while, you get a great mix in the setlist of the oldie but goodies plus they throw in some songs off of newer releases such as “Shore” and “Crack Up” to keep the setlist fresh and cater to fans who may be newer listeners. 

While the Shore Tour is wrapped up, next time Fleet Foxes comes to a city near you, we would highly recommend seeing the show if you want to experience wonderful live music.

Review & Photos by: Taylor Sher

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