Foster the People set to pump up Cosmo

Mark Foster recalls the days when he used to get wigged out playing in front of 300 people the way a historian might expound on some past event as faded from memory as the appeal of the pet rock.

Only it was two years ago.

Times, they've changed.

"A couple shows ago, I was talking to our tour manager, and I was like, 'How many people are going to be there tonight?' " the Foster the People frontman recalls, finding himself mildly disappointed to learn the capacity of the venue was 5,000. "I was like, 'That's it? Are you serious?' I was kind of bummed out. It's so funny to me that it struck me like that," he adds with a chuckle. "A year ago, I would have been freaking out, 'Oh my God, that's amazing. That's a ton of people.' Now it's like, '5,000? Really?' "

Foster sounds more tired than incredulous during a recent phone interview on a tour stop in Seattle.

His band's gig in Vegas on Saturday will mark the completion of their final U.S. trek of the year, with Foster estimating that the group has played 295 shows in the past 16 months since the band's first single, simultaneously brooding and upbeat dance pop smash "Pumped Up Kicks," began taking off.

It turned into one of the most played songs of 2011, selling close to 4 million copies, earning a Grammy nomination and becoming ubiquitous on the soundtracks to movies, TV shows and ad campaigns.

Initially released on the band's website for free before they even had a record deal, the song swiftly became a viral sensation within days of being made available online.

Foster penned the tune in a few hours while working at his former day job composing commercial jingles.

This background makes sense when listening to Foster the People's debut, "Torches," which is all electropop immediacy, with songs that get about their business quickly and directly.

Foster often sings in nimble-tongued fashion, his voice soft and sonorous, awash in whirring electronics, hand claps, high-stepping piano lines and exultant choruses.

It's a sound that can be processed almost instantaneously, registering fast, like an adrenaline rush, which is why, perhaps, that the band's success developed almost as rapidly.

Foster first noticed things starting to happen for the group at a birthday gig for himself at the Viper Room in the band's native L.A., which took place just a few weeks after he first put "Pumped Up Kicks" out there.

He was expecting the show to mostly be a gathering of friends.

Instead, there was a long line of people outside, most of whom he didn't know, stretching down the sidewalk.

"I remember just freaking out, because we weren't ready, man," Foster recalls. "We had played three shows at that point. But what it did for us was really make us get serious and focus, 'All right, if we're going to do this thing, we're going to need to really practice hard and catch up because there's a tidal wave coming. This is what we've all been working towards for years in other bands. And it's here.' "

Foster readily admits that he wasn't initially prepared for the larger crowds and everything else that comes with being in an increasingly popular band.

"Early on, it was terrifying," he says. "I constantly felt like I was getting thrown in a ring with a boxer who was better me. I had to learn in the moment. I didn't really have time to train for it. But, I guess that's kind of how it always is, man. You get thrown into situations and that's how you grow."

Since then, the band has crisscrossed the globe, playing in places such as South America, South Korea, Europe, the Philippines and Indonesia, where they had a particularly heated gig in Jakarta.

"It was one of the oddest shows we've ever played," Foster says. "Basically, it's a military state. The police were the security guards at the show. There's this really weird vibe in the country. It's not safe at all, but the crowd was just so passionate, so thirsty for music. It was so hot in the place. I watched them pull three girls out of the crowd who had passed out. It was the first time I had ever seen that, and it freaked me out. When I saw them pull the first girl out, I didn't know if she was dead, I didn't know what was going on."

Asked if he's experienced any culture shock moments during his travels, Foster laughs.

"Yeah, man, I get culture shock every time we play Texas," he quips.

He sounds like a dude who's quickly grown comfortable in the spotlight, nonchalance usurping nervousness.

"This whole tour is like 7,000 to 12,000 or 13,000 (people a night) and it's a walk in the park now," Foster says almost offhandedly, tossing the line off like a used cigarette butt. "I can roll out of bed and walk out on the stage in front of 50,000 people."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.