The Juggernaut rock icons that is Foo Fighters kicked off their much anticipated Australian tour on Saturday night in Perth in front of a packed crowd at NIB Stadium. In support of their ninth studio album Concrete and Gold which was released last year, the legendary act set out to rock the house and more, our reviewer Steve reports.
First to take to the stage were Melbourne rock outfit Cosmic Kahuna to get the early crowd moving, followed by LA rockers Weezer who were here to party. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo looked like a real super star decked out in a white suit, front and centre belting out many classics from the 1994 self titled “Blue” album among many others. Stand out’s for me included “Hash Pipe“, “My Name Is Jonas” and “Say It Ain’t So” as well as a brilliant cover of the Pixies classic “Where Is My Mind” and new track “Feels Like Summer“.
Even if the band didn’t move around the stage very much they still have boundless energy and an absolute unquenchable thirst for fun, finishing off the set with another one from the vaults “Holiday“. This band hold so many great memories for me personally so to finally see them was a real treat!
By now the crowd was packed in and the energy in the air was, without sounding cliched, electric. With very little fanfare or even an uttered word, Mr Grohl and co kicked into the track “Run“. Now if I was going to write about the ultimate stadium rock band, then Foo Fighters would definitely be in my top 5 but it should be noted now that this was my first time seeing Foo Fighters…Yes I can hear you saying, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ But 10 albums in and it still sounds as fresh and vibrant as ever!
Next up “Learn To Fly” and “All My Life” really kicked it up a notch as well as crowd favorite’s “Monkey Wrench“, “Everlong”, “Dirty Water” and new track “Sky Is A Neighborhood” from last years opus “Concrete And Gold” which all showcased exactly why this band are an absolute power house and have a huge fanbase. Everything from the lighting to the back up singers, shredding guitars, thunderous drumming and everything in between was top shelf and faultless and you could see hear and feel that the guys were having the time of their lives.
Further highlights from the show included drummer extraordinaire Taylor Hawkins jumping onto the mic and and Dave Grohl jumping behind the kit to cover the Queen classic “Under Pressure“. Following from that, another highlight was to literally see thousands of lights from mobile phones go up in the air in unison like fire flies in the night sky.Quite a sight to see!
During the encore Dave paid homage to the Beaconsfield mining tragedy by playing “Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners” plus a rendition of the Beatles classic “Blackbird“. I could go on for days on end but I’ll sign off by saying without a doubt tonight’s show was almost too good to be true and I’m 100 percent sure I’m not the only person who walked out feeling like the cat that got the cream! Until next time thanks for an amazing night, this is going to be difficult to top!
PHOTO GALLERY
Tour Dates
Saturday 20 January – nib Stadium, Perth
Tuesday 23 January – Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Thursday 25 January – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Saturday 27 January – ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Tuesday 30 January – Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Saturday 3 February – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Tickets & more info at frontiertouring.com/foofighters
