Beers for Walter, Jimmy and Edwin, Gatorade for Jack and a cup of tea for Yannis – Foals, if anything, are one well hydrated band. If only the stagehands invested as much effort into setting up their equipment as they did providing the band with refreshments.

It’s Foals first ever gig in Sydney, and while it’s likely the band could have sold out a far bigger venue, the Manning Bar will do just fine for those lucky enough to have scored a ticket.

Opening the night with the title track from their new album, Total Life Forever, it immediately becomes clear that the set up crew up did an average job. The sound is tinny and clumsy, prompting concerned looks to fall over the more observant faces in the crowd. The band too exchange glares of frustration until Jimmy finally unplugs his guitar, swiftly replacing it with one that works – alas, the sound improves.

They stumble out of the rough opener into Cassius, igniting a heavy mosh at the front of the stage, yet, despite the strong crowd reaction, the band seem to be thrown off, appearing tense and uneasy. Bass player Walter gestures a stern ‘slow down’ to fellow guitarist Jimmy before a flittering guitar and heaving kick-drum interrupts, setting off Olympic Airways.

In a recent interview with sister site FasterLouder, bass player Walter Gervers explained that while their debut album Antidotes was made up of songs originally intended to be played live, any thought of how their latest offering would translate to the stage wasn’t considered until after the album was recorded. So it comes as a nice surprise that their new material, in fact, sounds better live than their old.

This becomes most apparent when Yannis fronts up to the mic for Miami and his voice begins to pour out, finally revealing the strength and clarity he demonstrates so well on the album. Their new material continues to upstage its predecessors as Blue Blood, Afterglow and Alabaster wind up the crowd, re-affirming just how hard the band’s hit the nail on the head this time round.

Then a fuzz blares out of the speakers, initially leading me to worry that the technical issues of ago have resurfaced, yet I soon realise the sound saturating the venue is the oceanic backdrop to Spanish Sahara. Thankfully, the tenderness of this gem plays out perfectly live and only gets better as the band craft the intense swell that leads into that intoxicating drop which makes Spanish Sahara one of 2010’s best tracks.

With the audience now lapping up every note and hip thrust Foals throw at them, the band revert back to Antidotes with Red Socks Pugie and Electric Bloom, the later extended to accommodate Yannis as he scouts out and scales the tower of speakers beside the stage, utilising a stage light as a drum before dismounting back onto the stage to wrap things up.

Abandoning the stage to an eruption of applause, Foals leave the crowd to bicker amongst themselves about which of their songs have been set aside for the inevitable encore. Then after an extended absence, perhaps to ensure the stage crew get their shit together this time, the boys return. With another thank you to the crowd and a final drag of his cigarette, Yannis and the guys launch into the circus like The French Open.

Mayhem ensues, but not quite like it does when the night is wrapped up with Two Step Twice. As the song heads towards its climax, Yannis embarks on a lap around the room, leaving the rolling drums and ‘ba-ba-da ba-ba’ of the build to become almost painful, painful in the sense that you know something amazing is about to occur and you cant wait a second longer. And then it happens, the band let out a “Wooo” and BAM! – “that’s one step, one step, two step” dribbles around the room as everyone – band members and crowd alike – stumble over themselves in an effort to dance out what little time they have left together.

I’ve heard that Foals killed it at Glastonbury this year, and while I would have done unspeakable things to see it in person, nothing beats comfortably standing 3 meters away from one of the ‘it’ bands of the year in a sweaty bar in the middle of Sydney.