Foo Fighters ProfileIt's hard to measure the importance and love of a long-time band sometimes. If they've been around a few decades and toured the length and breadth of the world, you've probably seen them a few times. What… about 8, 9 or 10 times? Sometimes even a big fan will say... "Yeah, nah, I've seen them before” before parting with their hard-earned cash.
When Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters asked who in the crowd was seeing them for the first time, thousands of hands went up. That's how you know a band has generational appeal and is still super big. When kids are there - people who are younger than the first album - that's a band that has transcended time. And when you add in all the old school fans… well, that adds up fast.
"Who here is an old school fan?” Dave Grohl asks, the cameras focus on older faces in the front row feverishly cheering. There's plenty.
On their 17th (yes, really) visit to Australia, a country that welcomed them in so early in their career, they can still fill a stadium... Mostly. A few sections were noticeably empty in Suncorp Stadium. Perhaps a sign of the cozzie livs situation rather than a lack of love.
All My Life, followed by Pretender and Times Like These, kicked off the show and the Australian and New Zealand leg of their Take Cover world tour. If those first three songs were anything to go by, people were prepared for a big one.
It's gonna be a long night!" declares Grohl, and of course we were happy with that. It's not a Fooeys show if it's not pushing three hours, but being on a Thursday night, the show started at 7.30 pm to avoid pushing curfew.
The question isn't how long they'll play, but which songs will miss out from their twelve-album catalogue. For the many fans that have seen them before, there's also a hope of some hidden gems and surprises, something new or rare.
On a warm November night at Suncorp Stadium, we got them all.
With new(ish) drummer in tow, Ilan Rubin, as well as keyboardist, ex-Wallflower, Rami Jaffee, plus the established lineup, they are as tight as they come. There were obligatory changes to songs, extended solos, filled out songs, false endings and epic outros and later in the show a chance for each member to shine, but first there was a solid six song block into the setlist before Grohl properly addressed his brethren.
"Hey everybody. Welcome to the first date of our Australian tour. We first came here 30 years ago for Summersault. They made a movie about it, check it out!" Grohl knows his history and has a close affiliation with Australia, from Nirvana to Foo Fighters over 35 years.
"It would take a lot to say no to Australia. We'll play as many songs as we can before you kick us out. We've got too many fucking songs!" Grohl announces this before kicking into what he had declared previously as his favourite song he's ever written, These Days. A song that is now 15 years old, if you can believe it.
The debut self-titled 1995 album from Foo Fighters, which was recorded solely by Grohl, feels almost immature when placed alongside such classics as Learning to Fly and My Hero, but This is a Call still holds a certain charm as the old school fans belt out, "Fingernails are pretty, Fingernails are good." It would be one of only two songs from that album, but hey…there’s too many fucking songs!
As is standard in most stadium gigs, a 'B stage' was employed to break up the show. As the band shifted to the end of the catwalk for an acoustic break, we heard the "big in Germany" Wheels getting a run as well as Marigold, which - as Grohl explains - he wrote whilst living with the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain on his left-handed guitar in the middle of the night. That's one of those hidden gems fans were hoping for.
In a nice little perk, all of the members of the band played a portion of a song from their previous bands, with the highlight being a quick bash through Pat Smear’s The Germs cover of Manimal. That constant smile on his face as he belts out the guitar warmed the heart.
Whilst we heard all of the songs from other members of the group, we would have to go without hearing one from Dave Grohl himself, even though a big part of us would have hoped to hear a Nirvana cover.
The title track from Your Favourite Toy gets a run, and it may be somewhat glossed over by many fans, but it is still a legitimately hard-rocking song that is a pleasure to witness live for the first time.
There were a bunch of chances for the band to spread their wings, but the drum solo in Run, followed by the savage and precise drumming in Monkey Wrench, really showed off ex-NIN Rubin's drumming chops, with Grohl declaring, "He's the best fucking rock drummer in the world. Take it from me."
We believe you, Dave, but when - during the band introductions - Rubin jumps on to guitar to completely shred on his solo track, Tap Dancing In a Minefield, we get to see Grohl back on the drums for a bit and… well, his later statement felt pretty untrue. He hits those tins harder than anyone you’ll see.
Unlike previous tours where the band would play huge encores, there were just two on this show, but again we were treated to something special. The Gerry Rafferty track, Baker Street, has long been a revered cover by Foo Fighters, but according to setlist.fm, it has only been performed nine times previously live. Another surprise gem. Chris Shiflett absolutely nailed the riff on his Gibson Les Paul guitar, and it was a joy to witness.
The obligatory final song was, of course, Everlong. A song that has been finishing their sets almost exclusively since the late 90s, but it still packs a punch and leaves us all feeling the love.
How many bands make the effort to play at least one song from every released album? Not many, but such is the respect the band has for their discography that they treat them all with equal measure and as a fan, that is something to celebrate, even the old school ones.
Grohl’s voice is hanging in there. The higher ranges in Best of You and Breakout are starting to really push his capacity as a solid rock singer, but you can never doubt his ability to scream, even if he needs the crowd to help him out in the outro of Monkey Wrench.
The stadium stage show from Foo Fighters is probably not up there with your biggest rock acts in the world. There’s no bells and whistles; the video screens, whilst occasionally adding effect, are not used to their full potential. The light show is fine, but certainly not Tame Impala level, and the audio was just ok, but Foo Fighters have never been about the bells and whistles. As Dave Grohl has always said, it’s just about the rock ‘n’ roll.
Long live Rock ’n’ Roll and long live Foo Fighters.
