Foo Fighters marathon concert leaves Adelaide fans captivated

ONCE upon a time the Foo Fighters was a one-man project, a new life for Dave Grohl post-Nirvana, where he could play and record all the instruments himself. Last night they again proved they’re now one of the biggest and best live bands in the world.

ONCE upon a time the Foo Fighters was a one-man project, a new life for Dave Grohl post-Nirvana, where he could play and record all the instruments himself and worry about live shows later.

After two decades the band, now a six-piece with some of the most elite session and touring musicians, has become a music juggernaut, consistently filling stadiums across the world despite the receding tide of the stadium rock era.

Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters live at Hindmarsh Stadium. Picture: Emma Brasier/AAP

Adelaide on Tuesday night was no exception, as Coopers Stadium played home to the monolithic stage with a sound rig that would make even AC/DC do a double take.

Opening for Foo Fighters before the growing crowd were Melbourne garage punks Amyl and The Sniffers but the first big tunes of the day were provided by Los Angeles rock band Weezer.

Despite some glare from the still-setting sun, the four-piece impressed the crowd.

Busting out a feel-good pop-rock set full of hits like Hash Pipe, The Sweater Song, Beverly Hills, Buddy Holly and Island in the Sun, they were a perfect warm-up band — putting the crowd in a good mood before the headliners had even begun.

With little by way of introduction other than a pre-emptive cheer from those who saw him coming in the distance, Grohl burst onto the stage at a full sprint, yelling “are you f***ing ready?” like a rock banshee.

The rest of the band make a more subdued entrance, after all this was Grohl’s show, but each of them has serious musical chops and most have been with the band for more than a decade.

The first song out the gate was Run, one of their most recent singles off latest album Concrete and Gold and a return to the heavier, garage sounds of their first few albums.

It wasn’t long before classic hits were wheeled out with All my Life, Learn to Fly and The Pretender in quick succession followed by The Sky is a Neighborhood, their other recent single.

Between the musical numbers, Grohl charmed the pants off the audience, teasing them that it was going to be a long show, that the band could go all night and asking, “I’ve got one question for you Adelaide, do you love rock and roll?”

Grohl also seemed to be under the impression that Adelaide was the heavy metal music capital of Australia, which the crowd was more than happy to reinforce with cheers.

Long-time drummer and “Ayatollah of rock ‘n’ rolla” Taylor Hawkins and Grohl got the chance to bond with extended call and response between guitar and drums during Rope.

Hawkins rose up on a hydraulic lift at the end of the song, drum soloing all the way and occasionally slipping in the iconic opening drum beats of Down Under, which Grohl later told the crowd was his favourite part of Hawkins’ performance.

My Hero became the first singalong of the evening, while Grohl made use of a 50m long runway into the middle of the crowd to make sure he was interacting with as many in the audience as possible.

During Breakout Grohl called for the lights to be lowered and the crowd to turn on their mobile phone lights to illuminate the stadium.

In a break from collaborative songs Grohl introduced each member of the band, who then performed a small solo or segment of song, including Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust. Punk anthem Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones was performed by former Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear.

Alice Cooper’s Under My Wheels was also covered, along with Queen’s Under Pressure, where Grohl took to the drums while Hawkins and he sang the duet.

At the two-hour mark Grohl said the band was just warming up, pumping out fan favourites Monkey Wrench and Best of You before they departed the stage.

After an interminable few minutes, the big screen flickered to life as Grohl and Hawkins sat back stage.

The pair mimed how many songs they were considering playing in the encore with the crowd going wild when Grohl suggested a five-song return to the stage.

And five songs was what the crowd got, starting with instrumental The Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners with accompanying backstory and a cover of The Beatles’ Blackbird.

To bring the evening to a close in spectacular fashion the band finished with Times Like These, This Is A Call and epic singalong Everlong.

Epitomising what a band needed to be able to do to tour the world every couple of years, all Foo Fighters band members looked like they loved every moment on stage.

The banter between band members, Grohl’s manic grin while running around the stage and the general good time atmosphere left the crowd begging for more after a marathon three-hour set.

The concert seemed truly unique as Grohl encouraged band members to jam out, cracked jokes and generally oozed personality.

No doubt the band will return before too long and Adelaide fans will no doubt be counting down the seconds until Grohl brings his rock behemoth back down under.

SET LIST

Run

All My Life

Learn to Fly

The Pretender

The Sky is a Neighborhood

Rope

Sunday Rain

My Hero

These Days

Walk

Let it Die

White Limo

Arlandria

Breakout

Dirty Water

Arrows

Under My Wheels (Alice Cooper cover)

Another One Bites The Dust/Blitzkrieg Bop (band members solo medley)

Under Pressure (Queen cover)

Monkey Wrench

Best of You

ENCORE

Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners

Blackbird (The Beatles cover)

Times Like These

This Is A Call

Everlong