London Thunder: Foals at The Hippodrome, Kingston

Yannis has disappeared from the stage. This is not a new phenomenon for the Oxford-born five-piece – quite the opposite – and the rest of the band continue to play, unconcerned by the absence of their frontman. Lead singer, Yannis Philippakis is renowned for his stage dives, and, in the complete absence of separation between the energy onstage and pulsating crowd, lies the power of a Foals gig.

This connection tonight, as is often the case with the five, is rarely made through conversation. Yannis, when on stage, says little: the occasional song introduction, and a quick “Thank You” before exiting the stage in the raw aftershocks of ‘Inhaler’. There is little left to be said that the music can’t convey.

The audience never needs to be asked to beat their hands along with the rhythm of Jack’s drums, to imitate Edwin’s keyboard, to chant to the instrumentals produced between Jimmy’s guitar and Walter’s bass. When ‘Spanish Sahara’’s emotive melody rolls over the crowd in a wave of vocal power, the atmosphere transforms without prompting from any of the band. The song stands alone, cutting through the air like a knife to resonate from the walls.  None of the energy has evaporated; sweat-soaked figures vibrate with it, singing back the vocals as the tempo builds and the band return to their first EP for ‘Red Socks Pugie’. The hypnotic trance is broken through by ‘Late Night’: the agonisingly raw sound of Yannis’ cry of “Stay” transformed by the answer of the enraptured crowd.

As the figure falls into the sea of arms below, there is a break in sound, a matter of seconds, then the yelling, chanting, the instruments on stage crash back into action.

The show is into the encore when Yannis disappears, following an enthusiastic call-back from the crowd. Eponymous single from the latest album, ‘What Went Down’, has just merged into the introduction to the band’s classic closing song ‘Two Steps Twice’, and a chant develops in time with the beat, even without Yannis’ vocals to lead the way. The reaction to ‘What Went Down’ is reminiscent of that to seminal single ‘My Number’ earlier in the show; always a favourite during live performances. The opening bar, held, captures the attention of the crowd and sparks sudden movement as wholly as the 2013 single’s up-tempo new wave opening, despite the songs’ different styles. New material is welcomed enthusiastically, bracketed by old favourites, seen most effectively when, following material straight from the latest album, the band launch into this song from their first album in 2008, to close their set.

By this time, my original position near the front has become central, towards the back of the crowd, but the energy has barely changed. Everyone around is moving constantly, fighting for footing, jumping, pushing, dancing. The Hippodrome is not a large venue, and the room’s heat is stifling; people around me crane their necks both to see the stage and to reach the cooler air.

Now, the question is beginning to surface in the form of turning heads, murmurs underlying the rhythmic beats of the intro: Where is Yannis?

Behind where I stand, there is abrupt confusion. A bright, shell-suit jacket and a flash of dark curls dart by, parting the crowd that rush forwards, backwards, in response. Above, a balcony stretches out over the centre of the watchers and the room grows louder in realisation. As mentioned earlier, Yannis is renowned for his crowd-diving. From where I stand, I cannot see the balcony’s surface, but those below its front are already surging forwards, reaching up. As the figure falls into the sea of arms below, there is a break in sound, a matter of seconds, then the yelling, chanting, the instruments on stage crash back into action. All the while, Yannis is propelled forwards on the shoulders of his fans.

By the time his feet hit the stage again, Yannis is singing, and when the band exit for the final time, a sweat-soaked mirror of their audience, there can be no question that this is to be the beginning of a phenomenal tour.