Glorious. It’s not just the name of her debut album.
It’s a description of how Foxes sounds live – her vocals float throughout the room yet flood the space with nothing but ecstatic energy as she revels in the happiness of being on stage again.
She’s happy because this show is the first of a week of rescheduled shows, after the final part of her tour was cancelled (with this Portsmouth show postponed twice) due to her coming down with the flu and then a nasty chest infection.
Her set kicks off with Body Talk; her disco-style, 80s inspired, first single from her second album. The atmosphere in the room is wild, fans of all ages screaming and dancing as she spins and twirls around on stage – the lights behind her are slowly fading through different shades of purple, pink, and blue, and it’s a magical environment. It feels intimate, not as though you’re surrounded by a crowd, tightly packed together and standing in a pint of fruity alcohol that the man beside you spilled all over your shoe before the show had even started (my shoes were brand new too and he didn’t even realise when he dropped his entire cup…).
Foxes, real name Louisa Rose Allen, storms through an energetic set made up of songs from her first and second (new) album. She bounces all over the stage; an adorable grin on her face, perhaps in disbelief that she’s actually managed to reschedule the show. Classic Foxes songs include ‘Youth’, ‘Holding on to Heaven’, and ‘Let Go For Tonight’. The crowd screams the lyrics back to her, singing along, old mixed with young – there’s a middle aged man in the front row and a boy no older than twelve a few people along and this variety spreads throughout the room.
It’s inclusive and feels safe – but this is a good thing. There are no drunkards starting fights, nothing rude being yelled, and no obscenities from anyone. It’s a family-friendly environment; hosted by an artist whose pop music is truly universal.
The crowd groans when Foxes announces she’s going to sing a Bieber cover – “I’m going to do a bit of Bieber now… oh don’t be like that!” – but she’s giggling as she sings it anyway, turning ‘Sorry’ into a lovely acoustic track. You wouldn’t have even thought it was from Bieber if you hadn’t known the song.
She gets teary-eyed as she thanks her fans for sticking with her through the two albums, and again for coming back for this show despite the annoyance of having cancelled twice. Southsea (Portsmouth) is the closest of her shows to her hometown of Southampton, also my own, so a lot of us are celebrating our home-grown talent – no one minded coming back out for the show, it’s only twenty minutes down the motorway for us!
The show "closes" with ‘Amazing’, but as the lights dim, everyone is cheering for more. “Encore! Encore! Encore!” is the chant that spreads and, sure enough, after a quick drink, she’s back for not just one song, two. ‘Clarity’, the song she did with Zedd which won her a Grammy, and ‘Let Go For Tonight’. It’s an explosive finish to an evening that was well worth the wait.
Thank you Foxes, see you next tour!
