When the Foo Fighters come to Australia it’s a pretty big deal. It’s been 17 years since the band first toured this country and on each return visit their fan-base has grown exponentially. The band have forged a strong reputation and now, on their eighth visit to these parts, they are playing a headlining gig to 40,000 at a very close to full Suncorp Stadium.
The last time these guys played Brisbane it was under very different circumstances. After the 2011 floods ravaged the Queensland capital, the Foos dropped in for a whirlwind tour to raise money and help heal the waterlogged city. Playing to a Riverstage that sold out in minutes, they brought with them only their raw power and energy for which they are renowned as well as a catalogue of new tracks from the as yet unreleased Wasting Light. What resulted was two plus hours of relentless rock packed with new material like ‘Bridge Burning’ and ‘Walk’, undeniable classics, ‘Breakout’ and ‘My Hero’ and a scattering of rarely played cult favourites including ‘Hey Johnny Park!’ and ‘For All The Cows’. There were no screens, no explosions and not much in the way of special lighting either. It was basic and no frills. It was rock the way it’s supposed to be and how on Earth are the Foo Fighters going to beat it this time?
“We’re going to play until they fucking kick us off the stage tonight,” Grohl announces to the crowd following set openers ‘Something From Nothing’ and ‘The Pretender’. He could have added a caveat stating “or until my voice finally caves in” because what follows is a two and a half hour exercise is vocal cord shredding with only a short respite in the opening onslaught of hits as he regales the crowd with the traditional “I spent a night in early 2000 in a Gold Coast jail” story (who hasn’t heard that old chestnut?) over the introductory chords of ‘Big Me’.
Even those who feel that Grohl has been over-exposed over the last few years have to admit, this guy can do no wrong. He has been in so many documentaries, television shows and side projects over the years that he is now inescapable and even your Mum likes him. But he has generated so much good will and has such passion for his work, he now just seems like a “good bloke” and there’s nothing Aussies like more than one of those. But what truly delivers him into the realm of the great frontmen of the industry is that he has the energy of a 20 year old. He’s not stopping. At one moment he is running to side-stage to greet fans on either wing of the arena, the next he is charging up and down his custom built ramp cleaving the crowd in two, his trademark blue Gibson clasped in his hands before stopping dead at a strategically placed mic stand at which point he proceeds to lose his shit rather than sing the hook from ‘Breakout’.
Not averse in the past to expanding their songs into epics, the band have taken to jamming out their bridges organically these days so tracks like My Hero and most notably Monkey Wrench tonight find themselves broken down into their component parts, stripped bare and reassembled with the added bombast of a drum solo, a blues scale or duelling guitar noodles. In the case of Monkey Wrench, it’s all of the above stretching the four minute track out to 10 minutes before reaching it’s crescendo and shutting everything down on stage before an unlit Grohl screams out his “One last thing before I quit…” section acappella bringing the crowd at his feet surging forward and those in the stands to their feet.
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After a sedate acoustic interlude with the frontman decamping to the end of the ramp, into the middle of the crowd to play Wheels and Skin and Bones – which, from the audience reaction, was clearly toilet/beer break fodder – the rest of the band joins him on a revolving circular platform in the middle of the ramp for a conclusion of Times Like These followed by a set of well received covers. A roaring Taylor Hawkins-led version of The Faces’ ‘Stay With Me’, ACDC’s ‘Let There Be Rock’, prog-rock masterpiece ‘Tom Sawyer’ by Rush (dedicated to the one guy in the crowd who brought a home-made sign requesting it) and an excellently executed version of ‘Under Pressure’ with Hawkins doing Freddie Mercury’s parts while Grohl was on Bowie duty.
“We don’t do the awkward thing, we just keep playing”, Grohl announced and ‘All My Life’ roars to life on the main stage followed by a cavalcade of hits culminating with three stabs of nostalgia as ‘Generator’, ‘This Is A Call’ and finally ‘Everlong’ bring the show to it’s sweaty, euphoric conclusion as the band leave it all the stage and a head of steam rises from one of the largest mosh pits Suncorp Stadium has ever seen.
Grohl and co. are not afraid of dropping a few notes, beats or lyrics if it means rocking a bit harder and putting on a proper show. Polished note perfect performances that sound like the album are fine for the Nickelbacks of this world but great rock and roll is manic and spontaneous. It’s messy and frayed at the edges. Great rock music is dirty in its passion and tonight, on the 20th anniversary of the band’s first ever gig in a room above a Seattle boathouse, the Foo Fighters are covered in filth.
Setlist
Something from Nothing
The Pretender
Learn to Fly
Breakout
My Hero
Big Me
Congregation
Walk
Cold Day in the Sun
In The Clear
Arlandria
Monkey Wrench
Skin and Bones (acoustic)
Wheels (acoustic)
Times Like These (half acoustic, half full band on stage B)
Stage B Cover set
Stay With Me (The Faces cover)
Let There Be Rock (AC/DC cover)
Tom Sawyer (Rush cover)
Under Pressure (Queen + David Bowie cover)
All My Life
Outside
These Days
Generator
This Is A Call
Everlong
