In the Gen F section in of FADER Number 57, Friendly Fires revealed that they used to all be in a hardcore band. Watching them at the Levi’s®/FADER Fort, the remnants of that yelling brutishness were evident, but tinted with a kinder British post-punk, extra percussion slat. The XL superstars-to-be were massively sweaty and incredibly chipper throughout their set, which included a lot of cowbell and woodblock, a dustbuster and ambient noise. When you start a band, do you think about how you will be when you perform? Are theatrics unnatural or manifested organically? Does it matter? Probably not.