Fleet Foxes at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
photo by P Squared

Fleet Foxes played Prospect Park with (Sandy) Alex G (night 1 pics, setlist)

The singer assembled a group of musicians that really helped his songs — old and new — shine. The band’s core members were supported by The Westerlies, a four-piece brass section, who added to the intense heft of the “Crack-Up” songs. This writer also stood in awe of multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson, who rotated between percussion, flute, several horns and upright bass throughout the set.

…While the horde of musicians onstage made the show special, Pecknold was just as captivating when he came out to perform “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” and “If You Need To, Keep Time on Me” solo, just him and an acoustic guitar. The audience was treated to one more stripped-down song with “Oliver James,” the first encore song. [NY Daily News]

Fleet Foxes are on tour now in support of this year’s truly excellent Crack-Up, their first album since returning from hiatus. They played Newport Folk Fest over the weekend, and then landed in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park last night (8/1) for their first proper NYC show since Williamsburg Waterfront in 2011. (They also played a hard-to-get-into Artist’s Den taping in June.) They opened the set with the first three songs on the new album, included most of the other new songs throughout the night, and ended with the album’s closing title track. They also pleased longtime fans with a huge chunk of their debut — “White Winter Hymnal,” “Blue Ridge Mountains,” “Your Protector,” “He Doesn’t Know Why,” and more — and played other favorites like “Mykonos” and the proggy “The Shrine / An Argument,” which is kind of the spiritual predecessor to the new album.

(Sandy) Alex G, who last played NYC as a member of Frank Ocean’s band at Frank’s incredible Panorama set over the weekend, opened the show. Alex G is supporting this year’s Rocket and also recently did a headlining tour in support of the album.

He also opens for Fleet Foxes in Prospect Park again TONIGHT (8/2) and will be on tour with them for another week after that. Tickets for tonight’s show are still available.

Pictures of last night’s show are in the gallery above. Fleet Foxes’ full setlist and some videos are below.

UPDATE: Night two happened. Review, pictures, and setlist HERE.

Fleet Foxes at Prospect Park – 8/1/17 Setlist (via)
I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar
Cassius, –
– Naiads, Cassadies
Grown Ocean
Ragged Wood
Your Protector
The Cascades
Mearcstapa
On Another Ocean (January / June)
Fool’s Errand
He Doesn’t Know Why
Battery Kinzie
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
If You Need To, Keep Time on Me
Mykonos
White Winter Hymnal
Third of May / Ōdaigahara
The Shrine / An Argument
Blue Ridge Mountains
Helplessness Blues

Encore:
Oliver James
Crack-Up

photos by P Squared