The Foo Fighters closed out a two-date stand at Los Angeles' BMO Stadium on Sunday night with a nearly three-hour set that would have threatened to blow the roof off the venue, if it had one.
From high-octane opener “The Teacher” (which is usually part of the encore) to classic closer “Everlong,” Dave Grohl and his bandmates showed why, 30 years on, it's one of the most enduring, beloved rock bands out there. . A show of hands revealed that many fans were also at Friday's show, and the band went all out to shake up the setlist, swapping six songs and making the second show three tunes longer. The concert ended just before 23:00 with fireworks.
While always sounding louder live than on record with a soulful passion, the Foo Fighters also combined their gritty flavor with songs that were heavy on melody, leading to a night of fan favorites like “All My Life , “Times Like This”, “My Hero”, “Learn to Fly” and “Best of You”.
Nearly three hours later, as the band prepared to end the show with “Everlong,” Grohl reminded the crowd that he didn't like saying goodbye and that he and his bandmates would be back again. “Nobody's getting it ready any time soon, just so you know,” he said, which drew loud cheers from the crowd.
Below are five highlights from the concert.
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Beautiful “Ballad”
During a three-song acoustic set, Grohl belted out 2007's sublime “Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners.” Echo, Silence, Patience & Grace. He wrote it about miners trapped in a Tasmanian mine in 2006 who asked for an iPod with Foos songs while waiting to be rescued. He usually only releases it when the band is in Australia or New Zealand – according to setlist.fm, the last time Grohl played the song in the US was in 2008 – so it was really great to hear a rare instrumental from the group and to experience this wonderful rarity. Another standout from the acoustic set was “Statues” from the same album.
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Grohl's scream
It's nothing new, but it's still amazing how hard Grohl works in concert every night. From the opening screams on 'The Teacher' to the main set closer 'Best of You', he screamed with gut-wrenching intensity that exorcises his demons. It seems impossible not to damage his vocal chords, but after three decades, he's still able to go from a ferocious scream to a whispery vocal seemingly effortlessly.
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Family ties
In Sunday night's performances, the next generation's game was strong. Grohl's 18-year-old daughter Violet, whom he introduced as his favorite singer, joined him for “Show Me How,” a song the pair wrote for Grohl's late mother. Taylor Hawkins' son, 18-year-old Shane, came out during the encore to take over from Josh Freese on drums on the rip-roaring “I'll Stick Around.” He has joined the band several times since his father's death two years ago, and each time he becomes more confident and ferocious. Although he and Grohl didn't greet each other when he first came out, right before “Everlong,” Hawkins ran back onstage and gave Grohl a sweet, brief hug.
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Grohl's exuberance
Along with the screaming, there is a lot of smiling and a lot of cursing. Grohl may actually hold the record for the most use of the profanity “mother—-uh” in concert, but it's all so well-intentioned that even the wisest can hardly be offended — although if you're wise, you're probably not in a Foos performance. The simple fact is, as he strutted around the stage, drenched in sweat, it was clear that no one was having as much fun as Grohl, and that energy is contagious. In the many times I've seen the Foo Fighters play, I've never seen Grohl be anything less than 100% in terms of dedication, enthusiasm and appreciation, and Sunday night was no different. His bandmates – Freese, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel and keyboardist Rami Jaffee – are all solid but fairly static, leaving Grohl to do the heavy lifting when it comes to getting a crowd going. With only three shows left on the tour, it would have been understandable if Grohl was dragging a bit, but his energy never took off.
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The Hypocrites
Yes, the Foos played “The Pretender,” but The Pretenders led by Chrissie Hynde opened the second night and it was a wild 14-song, hour-long set that didn't stop from the minute Hynde and Company hit the stage. Hynde's vibrato remains remarkably intact, especially on songs like “Don't Get Me Wrong” and “I'll Stand By You,” as does her hard-hitting influence — though that's tempered by her big smile as she goes along. the set. Special mention to guitarist James Walbourne who dazzled with his muscular guitar work.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/foo-fighters-la-bmo-stadium-concert-recap/
