I had a slight reaction to seeing the boys of Foster The People up close and personal yesterday. Here is what I felt:

Cubbie Fink:

So casually he sat there with his bass draped across his lap. Legs crossed, exposing his ankles. Free of socks. Full of style. With ease. That’s the feeling of the man with the bass. He fingered each string gracefully while looking out on the crowd. It appeared he was just an observer, like me, of this beautiful rocket ship taking off.

He’s from the middle of town. He lives in the thick of it. So much so that he doesn’t need to tell you – it’s all over his being. His looks could’ve put him on an Abercrombie ad, but he’s not that guy. So who is he? He’s too cool to tell.

Mark Pontius:

He’s okay with sitting in the back. At least it appears so. Drummers are supposed to be, but all the time we see those that aren’t. There’s something mature about being the man who holds the pace of the entire thing. Without him it all falls apart. He’s the catcher calling each pitch. And he hides under his mask, content as king.

In this case, he looks like he could be your cute and cool neighbor. The boy next door? He wears a smirk, because he’s happy I’m sure. But also because he knows – ‘one day you will understand all that I do’.

Mark Foster:

The man that can connect carries a depth that the receiver need not be aware of. He has to make you care. He has to embody the feeling. And in this case, he makes you swoon. That never hurts.

No matter how many times it is recorded, this voice will hit you in a new way when it’s an actual vibration in the room. Many people can sing, but he truly becomes an instrument. And god he’s confident. Maybe smug? He comes off so cold that you want to go warm him up. But you know he’s not. He’s just deep. He may be jaded, but he’s there in the core where we all want to meet him. He gets it. And let’s be real – it doesn’t even matter as he sits there, beautiful. Doing what he does, beautifully.

He makes you wish you were cooler.

-Stefanie