Foxing, one of St. Louis’ most dynamic and successful rock acts, has called it quits for now. But the band went out with a bang, selling out two weekend shows at The Pageant and Delmar Hall to bid farewell to hometown fans.
Opening Friday night’s stand at Delmar Hall was St. Louis’ newly formed A Hundred Lives. The trio thanked the growing crowd for coming out early as they performed 30 minutes of music that intertwined a grungy, dark mood with a lighter touch. Somehow, Garrett Foster Mullin’s guttural vocals and Jim Fitzpatrick’s more melodic singing meshed together to create a pleasing mash-up of moody, euphonious noise.
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In the middle slot, Flint, Michigan’s Greet Death performed a lovely 45-minute set of their indie, shoegaze/slowcore style. Tinging their heavy, melodic, melancholic sounds with post-rock/grunge and distorted guitars, the band was a perfect fit to open for Foxing. They deadpanned that it was “good to be in St. Louis for Foxing’s funeral.” Their too-brief time on stage included the soft “New Hell,” “Entertainment,” and the languid “August Underground.”
Foxing strode onto a darkened stage just after 9:15 p.m. as Lee Hazlewood’s “Your Sweet Love” was piped into a packed Delmar Hall, and the shoulder-to-shoulder, sold-out room exploded into cheers. Emotions ran high, but Foxing frontman Conor Murphy took a moment early on to reassure the adoring fans that it’s not a goodbye forever.
“I don’t look at this as a farewell,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for us to grow individually, and I’m excited. We love you all so much.” He then said they had a “shit ton” of songs to share, and the beloved St. Louis band got busy with a night full of moody lighting and moody music. The first few notes played of each song elicited more and more squeals of excitement from the mostly 20-30-something crowd. The band performed favorites from each of their five studio albums, including “The Medic, “The Magdalene,” and “Draw Down the Moon.” They finished the night with “Rory” and “Nearer My God.”
For more on Foxing’s step away from the spotlight, check out SLM‘s Bob McMahon’s chat with guitarist and producer Eric Hudson. For more photos from the night, visit bit.ly/Foxing25cz.
