Foo Fighters review: Power, raw emotion and intimacy at Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium
It’s been a tumultuous time for Foo Fighters – but on stage they channelled all that raw emotion into intimacy, healing, joy and energy. Read our review here.
Entertainment
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The death of drummer Taylor Hawkins brought the Foo Fighters rock juggernaut to its knees in March last year.
The passing of Dave Grohl’s mother Virginia in August only compounded the pain.
‘But here we are’, the 15-time Grammy-winning band declared on the title of its new album, one that has drawn widespread acclaim for its poignant mix of raw emotion and arena-pounding hooks.
And it’s a statement that came alive on Saturday night.
Less than two years after Hawkins’ sudden passing, there they were again.
And, again, with a sellout Coopers Stadium crowd in the palm of their hands.
Led by frontman Grohl, Foo Fighters made a triumphant return to Adelaide, on the second leg of the band’s first full Australian tour since 2018.
Grohl’s energy – matched only by the crowd bellowing every word right back at him – through a two-and-half-hour set, filled with hits spanning the Foos’ 28-year catalogue, was familiar.
But, on the band’s 11th visit to the state – as Grohl pointed out – it was different this time.
The extra emotion in Grohl’s voice when he paid tribute to Hawkins was clear.
And, even more so, when he delicately belted out solo intros to spine-tingling versions of sing-a-long favourites Times Like These and My Hero.
Like they did five years ago, the stadium-pounding anthems sent the 21,000-strong crowd into a frenzy, but there was an extra added layer of intimacy to this visit.
“Every night, when I see you singing, it makes me sing harder,” Grohl wrote to fans after the band’s first run of shows following Hawkins’ death.
“When I see you screaming, it makes me scream louder.
“When I see your tears, it brings me to tears. And when I see your joy, it brings me joy.”
And it was clear, right from the moment the pulsating riff of opener All My Life rang out, there would be tears, joy and, of course, lots of screaming.
“All right motherf*****s, you wanna dance?” a head-banging Grohl shouted.
They did – and they didn’t stop.
With new drummer Josh Freese (Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Paramore) in tow, Foo Fighters powered through a jam-packed set that featured an early get-up-out-of-your-seats rendition of up-tempo 2007 hit The Pretender, where 54-year-old Grohl was at his screaming best.
But when Grohl jokingly paused to ask “do you mind if I sing it?”, it was obvious he wasn’t going to be the only one in full voice.
Crowd favourites Walk and Learn To Fly soon followed, while “old school” Foos fans revelled in highlights Breakout and Stacked Actors from 1999’s There is Nothing Left To Lose.
“You want one more ? Grohl asks two hours into the set.
“You want 10 more?
“Can you still scream? I just gotta know.”
Grohl knew the answer when the crowd rose as one, screaming for at least 20 seconds, a noise only eclipsed by a rousing happy birthday to bassist Nate Mendel earlier in the night.
“I’ll show you how the pros do it,” Grohl responded as the band launched into Monkeywrench and an epic Freese solo.
By this point, the joy was obvious.
Not only on the ground and in the seats but on stage as Grohl paraded around with a smile on his face, making sure he took the time to acknowledge the sheer amount of people there smiling back at him.
Then there’s effortlessly cool guitarist Pat Smear, who looks like he’s having the night of his life every show.
That look was everywhere, to be fair.
As were the tears – even if not as obvious.
Amid deafening guitars and a heavy beat from the impeccable Freese, Grohl sings of tragedy “it came in a flash, it came out of nowhere, it happened so fast, and then it was over” on Rescued, the opening track of the latest album.
Later, Grohl shouts “let’s hear it for Taylor Hawkins”, as he takes a moment to reflect on the loss of his best friend.
“I could tell a Taylor story every fu***** night of this tour,” Grohl continues, recounting the tale of when Hawkins collided with another motorcyclist on a tour down under, confused about which was the right side of the road.
“We talk about him and think about him everyday.
“So we like to play this song for him every night.”
The band then launches into an emotional version of 1999’s Aurora, Hawkins’ favourite Foo Fighters song.
In typical Grohl fashion, the band is powering on.
In some way, everyone healed on Saturday night – and had a bloody good time doing it.
Foo Fighters head to Melbourne next for two shows at AAMI Park on Monday and Wednesday before travelling to Sydney and Brisbane.
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