Foo Fighters

Walking into the Sydney superdome was an interesting experience. Without exaggeration patrons were going through at least 7 different security personnel before setting foot on the floor. Only luck got my camera thru (which rendered useless as it is unbelievably difficult to take photos whilst crammed against the front of a D barricade whilst sea of people rock the fuck out! It was worth it). None the less we arrived at the tail end of The Nation Blue, this was a travesty as the group that we were with were really looking forward to see them. Credit must be given to the bass player, as the night before he dislocated his knee in Brisbane, the remedy? Sitting up against his bass amp while playing.

Next the Kaiser Chiefs from Leeds hit the stage. KC front man, Ricky Wilson tried his utmost to work the crowd, almost at times trying a little bit too hard. The biggest pop for the set was when the Brits flew into “Everyday I love you less and less”. Quite impressive was the way keys and synths have come back into rock to accentuate it. Try that 5 years ago on a stage, the crowd would have rioted.

The time had come. A curtain of light encapsulated the stage. Two banners on either side preached the two letters we were waiting for, FF. The three fractured video screens began the magic.

A shaky silhouette of Dave Grohl was taking shape. The first blast of distortion lifted the eager crowd.

The curtain rose. A pile of decrepit amps and defunct speaker stacks filled the stage, towering over the band.

The quartet surged into the title track of the new album “In Your Honour”. One doesn’t realize the success of the band until it hears the set list of its concert. Even a pseudo fan would know the lyrics to 2/3 of its set. And this was the case here, 25,000 rabid fans chanting lyrics like a congregation following its leader. Each song flowed from the other and each wave of moshing did likewise.

Out of the many highlights I must only name a few for the sake of word limits:

- Dave Grohl running to the back of the stadium and “talking” to Chris Shiflett via a series of mini solos, Chris Shiflett replying with an “anything you can do I can do better” solo’s

- Reinstating “Big Me” into their set list.

- The awesome drum solo by Taylor Hawkins while Dave Grohl pick taps in the background. (May I add that Taylor has seriously upgraded his drum kit with a huge bass drum and more percussion (tuned toms and blocks)

- And finally “A Cold day in the Sun” played by Taylor on guitar and vocals, whilst Dave played drums – biggest pop of the night.

I have been to quite a few concerts in the past few years with such big names as ; Metallica, The Mars Volta, Evanescence and The Dandy Warhols. In terms of pure showmanship and just plain living up to the hype, the Foo Fighters blew them totally out of the water. The genius of Dave Grohl and his band of merry men is a true testament to old school rock. Rock on you little bastards!

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