There’s one word that comes to mind above all others in regards to Monday night’s Fleet Foxes / Cave Singers show at the Moore — and that word is simply stunning. The impeccable sound, lighting, and setup of the Moore made for a veritable breeding ground of amazing, as two of the Pacific Northwest’s best alt.beardcore bands brought their respective brands of greatness to the stage. The Cave Singers let loose with a tight, polished, best-of catalog-spanning set that washed over us like the force of nature they are — followed by this imaginary’s inaugural live Fleet Foxes set.

There’s a damn good reason why those Foxes have been getting so much press, and that reason is sheer, unadulterated talent — delivered with some of the best overall musicianship around, in our humble imagianry opinions. For well over an hour and a half, we were assaulted {in the very best of ways} with flawless harmony, a warm stage presence, and builds inside of songs that amounted to literal arsenals of sound which seemed to be coming from a bigger place than just those five-odd folks. Their own brand of personal creativity, spliced through with moments of old Crosby, Stills and Nash albums and patches of sunlight — the kind that bursts into the car windows outside of a clearing of trees on a back road with your favorite records on the stereo — made us see why this band is a force to be reckoned with.

Bound together with love, some kind of raw, unprocessed organic not-too-sweet honey and a dedication the craft of songwriting, the Fleet Foxes deserve every instant of success they’ve earned. Believe the hype.

{All photos by Victoria VanBruinisse. Fleet Foxes photos appear here courtesy of permission from the band and are not to be reproduced without permission.}