Live Review: Foo Fighters, Rise Against, The Delta Riggs

Though they only have 20 minutes and the fleeting attention of a slowly filling stadium, The Delta Riggs don’t waste a minute. Banging out their strutting, dirty rock faves with pride, as the key change of Supersonic Casualties hits at the set’s end, they kick into overdrive and prove truly deserving of the opportunity.  

After a super-quick changeover, Rise Against launch into one of their biggest singles, Ready To Fall. It’s a thrilling start – even if the sound is quite shambolic – though the Chicago outfit continues to cop a set full of bouncing stadium sound from their swift punk rhythms and the quick tongue of gravelly frontman Tim McIlrath.

Regardless, they put in solid performance hitting their career highlights, Re-Education (Through Labor), Prayer Of The Refugee and I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore with vigor, though the Jawbreaker cover with Foo guitarist Chris Shiflett on vocals could well have been skipped.

Dave Grohl stands silent at the mic for a few moments on the 20th anniversary of Foo Fighters’ very first club show, shrouded in darkness and applause, oblivious that the non-Triple M listeners are already questioning their presence after spotting the huge ‘Foo Fighters – next 2.5 hours’ Aussie road sign that proudly lords over 40,000 punters.

Nevertheless, opener Something From Nothing already has the ubiquitous frontman running all over the stage like a mad dog, and his band of merry men – guitarist Pat Smear certainly the merriest with a grin that never leaves his face – shift back-to-back through the hits: The Pretender, Learn To Fly, Breakout, My Hero. With the first pause dedicated to the story of getting caught DUI on a scooter after a Gold Coast Big Day Out appearance, Grohl finally plays Big Me proper, after cutely strumming behind his glorification of drink driving, making for an almost sweet moment of ‘90s nostalgia. Monkey Wrench continues the memory lane trip, and this evening’s somewhat formulaic approach – play hit, jam out towards the end, kick back in dramatically with assistance of lighting and/or Grohl’s growl – continues. A lengthy ego ramp extends to the middle of Suncorp (one wonders whether McIlrath received a wrist slap for his tentative earlier use of it), which adds an extra dimension of stagecraft to the largely high energy, balls-out-rock approach.

Following a mid-field solo sojourn by Grohl, the band impressively rise from the middle of the GA ramp section during Times Like These, and move into a stint of covers including Under Pressure and Detroit Rock City. It’s the highlight of the evening, even if is it somewhat tainted by Grohl pretending a kid in the audience has requested the Rush cover Tom Sawyer and his dreams are subsequently coming true – though anyone with the Auckland setlist to hand knows this is a load of made-up horseshit. Back on the main stage proper, the punishing pace of the show’s opening bracket continues – with the exception of the moody Sonic Highways gem Outside, All My Life is chugging and brutal, Generator provides the most distinctive and memorable riff of the evening and finally Everlong sends punters away with a heart full of longing for their teenage selves. It’s been the motherfucking Dave Growl rock show tonight – love it or leave it.