Concert Review with PHOTOS: Foo Fighters
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Photos by Stephen Boxshall
By Siobhan Fitzpatrick
Artist: Foo Fighters
Date / Venue: Tuesday January 30th, 2018 - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Foo Fighters brought their massive “Concrete and Gold” show to Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium last night, for what ended up being one massive jam session of hits, favourites and a few well chosen covers thrown in.
First up on the bill was Melbourne punk rock outfit, The Clowns - opening proceedings with yet another sterling, high energy performance that fans have come to know and love. The last time I saw these guys play was at Richmond’s Corner Hotel and it was great to see them take to the massive Foo Fighters stage with the same amount of commanding presence that they show every time they play. Without a doubt they certainly captured the attention of the crowd rolling in, helping build the anticipation of what was to come.
Next up was popular American band, Weezer, opening with the crowd pleasers, ‘Surf Wax America.' 'El Scorcho', 'My Name Is Jonas' 'Say It Ain't So’ and ‘Buddy Holy’. These were just a few amongst a 14 song hour long set that really got the crowd moving and singing along.
Lead singer Rivers Cuomo announced "As if touring with the Foo Fighters wasn't enough, later this year, we'll be touring with The Pixies", followed by an excellent cover of The Pixies hit, 'Where Is My Mind?'. I’m pretty sure it wont be long before we see them back on these shores again headlining there own shows. As the crowd continued fill the stadium, Weezer finished with 'Island In The Sun' to huge applause.
The near capacity crowd roared to life as the lights drop and glimpses of band members silhouettes behind the curtained of stage. Opening the night with 'Run' from the new album, 'Concrete and Gold'. From that moment there really are are no breaks or pauses and it's almost an hour before Grohl takes a breather to apologise for taking so long to say “Hello” to the fans.
Foo Fighters are a band that started life as a one-man project in Seattle at the time when Nirvana ceased to exist, and who have to date released nine albums are really at the top of there game - enjoying every minute of being in front of an almost capacity crowd of new and old fans alike,
The nights set list of 25 songs is made up of classics, new and old and at times they manage to make the stadium feel like an intimate club gig, no hard feat for a crowd of around 48,000. Grohl's easy as banter has the crowd in the palm of his hand and the extended jams are a treat for fans that have seen the Foo’s more than a handful of times.
So many highlights but “Detroit Rock City” (Kiss Cover) with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer on guitar and vocals, “For All The Cows” from the first album during the encore and “Let There Be Rock” a cover of the AC/DC song dedicated to Malcolm Young are stand outs.
All in all they don’t disappoint, it's Stadium Rock And Roll at its best and after almost 25yrs they still feel relevant and genuinely humbled by the fans reactions.