Foster The People performs at Fox Theater in Oakland on Jan. 31, 2025. Matt Pang/STAFF.

OAKLAND — Supporting fourth album Paradise State of Mind, alt-pop band Foster the People kicked off a two-night stand at Fox Theater on Friday.

Led by songwriter and frontman Mark Foster, the lone original member of the hit-making group, the band kicked off the show with a one-two punch of new songs “Feed Me” and “Lost in Space.” Dim lighting gave way to flashing strobes as Foster strode onto the stage and began to strut during the ’70s-leaning songs tinged with spacey synths and funky rhythm sections. The disco-inflected “Lost in Space,” a single, got the dance party started in earnest.

The show’s set was an even mix of newer tunes and Foster the People’s critically acclaimed 2011 debut album, Torches. “Helena Beat” was the first of the classics, which also included “Houdini,” “Call It What You Want” and “Don’t Stop (Color the Walls).” The band’s sophomore album, 2014’s Supermodel, was represented by three tracks. The most memorable of those was “A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon,” which featured a Clams Casino sample and flashing red and blue lights.

The room’s lighting then turned blue for a return to the newer material with “Take Me Back” and the live debut of “Let Go,” which got an extended outro. While Foster has said he was heavily influenced by the sounds of the ’70s while making the album—which definitely translated on stage—thematically, it was affected by the world’s climate of those times and the parallels between the Cold War and now. Many of the new songs carried a dark undercurrent despite the danceable material.

Foster The People performs at Fox Theater in Oakland on Jan. 31, 2025.

An impressive light show and visuals projected across the entire room during “Lamb’s Wool,” from 2020 EP In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing. Then during the appropriately titled “Glitchzig,” the 360-degree-visuals turned psychedelic. Foster the People closed out the main set with heavily processed Paradise State of Mind closer, “A Diamond To Be Born,” during which Foster and his touring band were backlit with rainbow-hued animated visuals.

When Foster and company returned following a break, he finally addressed the crowd.

“We’re living in a weird time, and a lot of things don’t seem real, but our friends and family are real,” he said. His overall message was about appreciating the people and moments in our lives while we’re still here.

Then he and the band kicked into early aughts staple “Pumped Up Kicks,” during which Foster tapped the keys of a digital sampler. The band ended the show with “Sit Next To Me,” one of three tunes from 2017’s Sacred Hearts Club.

U.K. duo Good Neighbours opened the show. Oli Fox and Scott Verrill, who released their first song together last year, worked through a short set highlighted by viral success “Home,” a dreamy and nostalgic-sounding tune.

— Editor Roman Gokhman contributed to this story.