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Thrills galore await Seattle folk outfit as they make their Cornish debut [Western Morning News (England)](Western Morning News (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) "Sweet," cooed Casey Westcott. "Awe -s ome." The keyboard wizard from harmonious US indie folksters Fleet Foxes, was reflecting on the discovery that his band's show at Cornwall's Eden Project tonight is going to be an even more intriguing occasion than he'd anticipated. The erstwhile burgeoning software developer from Microsoft's capital city was already hugely excited by the prospect of visiting the home territory of his inspirational hero Richard D James - aka 1990s electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin - who grew up at Lanner, and went to school in Redruth. "I'm really interested to see the town where he lived. For me his records are just incredible. I studied computer music and we use similar programming; he uses the same code that I write in," enthused Casey as he waited to board a ferry back to the English mainland from Northern Ireland. The guys are getting about a bit on their UK tour - they chilled the crowds at the Other Stage at Glastonbury last Friday and had theatre shows up country this week. But Casey's excitement jumped up another level when he discovered that the platform he and his five bandmates will occupy tonight sits in the heart of a unique space-age horticultural environment, spawned by similarly groundbreaking, experimental spirit . "That sounds amazing. I can't wait to see that," he said. "I love to play places I've never been before and this really sounds cool." Creators of lush, multi-layered soundscapes, Fleet Foxes blend West Coast harmonies with a European baroque sensibility and have drawn comparisons with legendary acts including Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Beach Boys. They come to Eden off the back of their hot-off-the-press second album Helplessness Blues, which hit number two in the UK chart - one notch higher than their massively successful eponymous debut in 2008. Their Sun Giant EP of the same year spawned their most successful single to date, Mykonos. In the live arena the Fleet Foxes song sheet changes from venue to venue; theatres need a different ap-proach to festivals, but the band now have a solid core setlist of around an hour-and-a-half to choose from, fitting as many tracks into that time as they can. "We are trying to play more new material now," explained Casey. "It makes it a lot fresher and more interesting for us and the audience." At just turned 30 he is five years older than founding frontman Robin Pecknold and guitarist Skyler Skjelset. He put his days in software development on hold to become a fulltime member of the hirsute Seattlespawned band - along with bassist Christian Wargo, drummer Josh Tillman and multi- instrumentalist and arranger Morgan Henderson. Casey hasn't looked back, relishing every moment as their popularity grew steadily. "I really enjoy focusing on the music and also spending time with everybody - we all get on well," he added. "We've been playing together for a long time now and we speak the same language on stage. There are certain times when we can just rest in each other when we are playing; we can rely on each other in that musical situation and outside of it." He finds being on the road pretty pleasurable. "I was raised in a big family so I am good at just letting things hang - it's best to have an easy-going attitude when you are working with so many folks and dealing with uncertainty all the time," said Casey, sagely. "You can feel slightly disorientated being away a lot, but I try to enjoy the new patterns and rhythms of the experience; and these days I find it quite difficult to be in one place for a long time." But he'll certainly be sticking around at Eden long enough for a thorough tour. Opening for Fleet Foxes on the main stage bill tonight are Isle of Wight indie rockers The Bees and Mercury-nominated Dublin folk collective Villagers. On the Biotik stage, inside the Mediterranean Biome, you can see acts associated with the charity Manchester Aid to Kosovo (MAK) including Badly Drawn Boy, The Travelling Band and Liam Frost from 3.30pm. Emerging acts playing on the Stage Right stage from noon include Dark Moon, Louise and the Pins, Kola, Thomas J Speight and Exelby, rounding off at 8.45pm between the main stage final sets with Louis Eliot and the Embers. Fleet Foxes play the Eden Sessions tonight. For tickets covering all performances call 01726 811972. (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |