Dave Grohl’s power puts Foo Fighters’ show into overdrive

FOO Fighters rely on Dave Grohl’s genius to meld punk power with songwriting hooks.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 24: Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters performs at Suncorp Stadium on February 24, 2015 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

WHEN Dave Grohl first played music in Brisbane, he was pounding the drum kit for Nirvana at the relatively intimate Festival Hall in 1992. This month, as his band the Foo Fighters clock up 20 years since their first gig, Grohl is performing for more than 40,000 at Suncorp Stadium. One of the most influential rock acts of the past two decades, the Foo Fighters rely on Grohl’s genius to meld punk power with songwriting hooks that follow a lineage refined by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Queen.

Opening with the power trio of Something From Nothing, The Pretender and Learn to Fly, the Foo Fighters were immediately in overdrive. Grohl let rip on his blue signature Gibson 335 and Taylor Hawkins showed why he is one of the most watchable drummers in modern rock.

Don Bradman was once asked how he kept fit. He deadpanned that it was the running between wickets that did it. The same could be said for Grohl — in possession of a mighty rock voice — who continually sprinted across the long ramps that brought him marginally closer to the fans in the bleachers. The band impressed as they broke into an extended jam. For lovers of rock guitar, there was shredding par excellence from Grohl, Nirvana touring alumnus Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett. Grohl told an anecdote about being arrested while riding a moped on the Gold Coast after a Big Day Out show years ago and dedicated Big Me to the Gold Coast police.

A cowbell announced the onslaught of Congregation. By Arlandria, the sound mix was spot on. Monkey Wrench took things up another gear, and Hawkins invoked the spirit of John Bonham with ferocious drumming.

The heat came down a notch as Grohl, a rock ’n’ roll renaissance man if ever there was one, played an acoustic set. The band then moved to an intimate B-stage in the middle of the stadium. Grohl mentioned how his band didn’t fare too well in the high school battle of the bands competition, leading into Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure with Grohl and Hawkings sharing vocals.

It was terrific, but the true magic came a few minutes earlier. The band tore into a cover of AC/DC’s call to arms, Let There Be Rock. Grohl shredded his voice; the band gave it their all and it felt, for five minutes at least, that band and stadium were in a perfect rock ’n’ roll moment. It caught the raw beauty of maximum voltage combined with the undiminished majesty of three chords and a band who play like they mean it.

Foo Fighters. Sonic Highways World Tour. Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, February 24. Sydney, tonight; Melbourne, Saturday; Hobart, Monday; Adelaide, Wednesday; Perth, March 8.