Fleet Foxes please a packed Pabst

It's a story impossible to imagine. A struggling band, borrowing money to record their first album, sells out shows around the country within months of the album's release.

Receiving rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and College Music Journal, the Fleet Foxes are making a name for themselves in the music industry. Maintaining control of their original sound and surrounding themselves with friends and relatives, the Fleet Foxes are running a genuine tour in an industry plagued with "viable" marketing maneuvers. And fans love it.

Taking the stage for a little over an hour last night at the Pabst, I don't know if I've seen a more gracious band. The atmosphere felt more like intimate get together in a friend's living room than a sold out show on an international tour. Playing without an ounce of pretension, the Fleet Foxes epitomize the deep sincerity and genuine graciousness present only in the brief moment when a band's success is imminent but not yet fully understood.

The Fleet Foxes showcased their debut self-titled album, playing songs like "White Winter Hymnal", "Ragged Wood" and "He Doesn't Know Why". Band lead, Robin Pecknold, carried the stage alone for a few acoustic solo's including "Oliver James". Reiterating their affection for the crowd, Pecknold playfully regurgitated a snippet of Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" when someone from the crowd cried out the request.

Band members Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo and Josh Tillman released their debut self-titled album in June 2008. Booking a tour within months, the Fleet Foxes' tour takes them across the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Incorporating acoustic and electric guitar, the mandolin and a load of percussion instruments including the maracas and the tambourine, Fleet Foxes flowed from one song into the next frequently changing instruments and vocalists.