Whether you’re a die-hard Foo Fighters fan, an occasional listener, or you absolutely despise them (unlikely, considering that you are reading this review), there is no denying that the Foo Fighters are one of the most successful rock bands of the last two decades. Their latest album, Wasting Light is their most successful yet, with number ones all across the globe.
No introduction was needed as they marched on stage with instruments in hand. The crowd was immediately greeted by the hypnotic one-note riff from All My Life. This set the pace and energy for the treat of a show we were in for. It wasn’t until about four songs in until they gave the music a rest and greeted the crowd. Nothing sentimental here though – it was more along the lines of Dave screaming “we’re not the kind of band that plays 1 hour 45 minute shows! We’re going to keep playing until the neighbours call the cops on us!”. The crowd loved it and cheered him on.
A good band is one that plays their songs flawlessly live, as if you were listening to the album. In my opinion a great band surpasses this. The Foo Fighters for instance would play around with the arrangements of the songs by abridging or elongating sections. In Breakout and Monkey Wrench for example, they would add instrumental passageways that take you away from the original vibe of the song, and then gracefully pull you back in and leave you thinking ‘woah…’
It’s not every Foo Fighters record where you’ll get to hear Taylor Hawkins sing. This reconfiguration of the band was an innovative and fresh take on the traditional Foo sound that we all know and love, yet he should probably stick to banging the drums (in my honest opinion). But hey, the crowd speaks volumes and they loved every moment of it, bouncing all the way through the tune.
There was an incredibly beautiful moment that I was very glad to have shared with everyone that was in attendance there tonight. I fail to remember during which song it was, but the lights went down and everyone proceeded to get out their lighters/phones. In a packed out Sydney Football Stadium, it looked pretty darn spectacular! Might’ve even been a world record if someone was counting how many lighters and phones were lit!
Dave fooled nobody with his initial goodnight antics. As the crowd anticipated and eagerly discussed what encore songs they were going to play, the cameras followed the band backstage where Dave and Taylor were having a mimed argument over how many encore songs they were going to play. What started as two songs became three, and then eventually became four. The silliness ended with Dave sculling a beer, which was absolutely hilarious to watch! He storms back out onto the platform with an acoustic guitar and exclaims that “the hardest part of my job is sculling beer and running 150 feet to sing to you guys”. He performs a couple of couple of acoustic pieces, one being Times Like These, and then it’s back into full-band action again with an old-time favourite, Generator. Last but not least, we were left with an unforgettable performance of Everlong.
All in all, this gig surpassed all my expectations. Two and a half hours of Foo Fighters – gosh there was something for everyone here! I personally loved the older tunes. This is a Call, My Hero and Everlong rekindled me with distant high-school memories and were absolutely killer. Whilst I am not the fondest of the latest album, hearing the new material played live with such pure and raw emotion made me realize that the Foo Fighters are not a band that remains the same each album. They evolve and are constantly pushing the envelope and reinventing themselves – and this is why they will undoubtedly go down in the rock and roll hall of fame.
