“I’m gonna kick your Fuckin Ass!!”

That’s how Dave Grohl opened up the Foo Fighters in the London Stadium before the crowd exploded to life as “All My Life” kicked things off. With an impact as powerful as it was back in the early 2000’s, you could barely hear yourself over the crowd screaming along to every word. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Foo Fighters, arguably the biggest rock band of the modern era on the planet, and whilst I might only enjoy a very niche selection from their vast discography, there was no doubt that whatever was delivered in this near 3-hour set would be explosive.

By the time I got to the venue I’d missed both support acts but in all honesty they wouldn’t even be worth talking about here, at least the Foo Fighters have some substance and prestige to them and their appeal across rock and metal in general is massive. My own tastes for them are very hit and miss outside of those specific albums (colour and shape, nothing left to lose, one by one) but given how a lot of their anthems are from that era, I knew I’d find some bits to enjoy and who knows, maybe the rest might appeal to me?

“All My Life” opening things up with a bang was the perfect way to start it and from there, the band surged forwards. With the stadium packed out, it was impressive to hear the adoration of the crowd and Grohl’s playing with the fans throughout the set was on point. “No Son Of Mine” segued into the main riff of ‘Enter Sandman’ with some back and forth from the crowd which served to stoke the flames of the passionate fan base in attendance.

“I’m just waiting to be rescued/bring me back to life” had a real positive vibe to it, with the big uplifting sing along choruses and massive chord walls, it went down well, as did the following track “The Pretender”… Scratch that, The Pretender ripped London stadium a new one with its brake neck pace and energetic delivery. The extended breakdown and build up section got the crowd moving even more. The deafening clap and drum combo with the building guitars led to the crowd taking point on the screamed lines without the band accompanying them before Dave ‘asked’ if he could singing it with us, causing the place to explode to life.

As the set continued, you could see how much Grohl was enjoying it. Every time his face popped up on the screen he had a huge smirk to display and he just didn’t stop. Telling all of us in attendance who had never seen the Foo Fighters before that he had our asses, he told us that he wanted everyone in full voice, especially as he followed this announcement with “Times Like These”, one of their biggest sing along anthems loaded with that empowering and motivational energy many associate with the band. Just hearing Grohl sing with the crowd and having only the organ sound backing was a hairs on the back of your neck raising moment. Naturally when the band kicked in, things blew up but even they couldn’t drown out the sold out stadium!

“Generator” took things back to the 90’s, the era of the Foo Fighters which I am more familiar with and it was fun to hear the songs which helped get me more into alternative rock and metal on the big stage. This shifted to what Dave announced as a ‘deep cut’ in the form of “Stacked Actors”, another track from the same album as Generator and “Breakout” which was up next kept the theme up. Another massive sing along ensued and even with the extended sections, the crowd’s energy didn’t dip in the slightest. The first of many drum solos landed and whilst it wasn’t the iconic Taylor Hawkins, the man who had the impossible task of replacing the generational talent on the sticks, backing up the man who Axl Rose said was the best drummer of the 90’s did not shy away from the spotlight when it was cast upon him. Josh Freese, take a fucking bow!

After the ‘meet the band’ section which featured some great showboating (a brief cover of Eruption by Van Halen, Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, Welcome To The Machine by Pink Floyd), a demand for a custom Sex Pistols themed Pat Smear flag (which was followed by Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones… yeah wrong band I know!) and some Devo!

Getting things back to the main set, “My Hero” came in. Initially led by just Grohl and the keys, it was like Times Like These, but the crowd sounded even louder in the choruses. The echo of a sold out London Stadium pouring their soul into every word, arm in arm and lost in the moment was pure fucking magic and it really dug at something deep inside. With the band joining in partway through again the crowd was deafening and I implore you dear reader to find footage of this track on YouTube to feel exactly what I felt during this moment.

Impressed with the crowd, Grohl repeatedly commented on how we were a bunch of ‘loud motherfuckers’ and the laughter and cheers of approval confirmed this. The only crowds who have been louder than those in attendance tonight who I have been a part of have been those with Iron Maiden and AC/DC.

“Learn To Fly” kept the sing along going with its massive chorus hook and the infectious passion and energy had everyone moving throughout. This continued through the next few songs (“Arlandria”, “These Days”) and the crowd just didn’t surrender their energy for a single moment. Singing, dancing, clapping along, you name it, the crowd was doing it.

Halfway through the set the acoustic guitar was brought out along with an accordion of all things. This introduced “Skin And Bones”, a track which they claimed was only added into the set a few days ago and it consisted of just Dave and the keyboard player handling the duties for this one. It’s not surprising given that most standard shows would be over by this point in the set, but this brief reprieve allowed the rest of the band to take a breather before the rest of this mammoth set continued. As a testament to the level of noise the crowd was pumping out, the helicopter which flew past was only noticeable if you looked up by chance. You wouldn’t have heard it over the singing crowd. We got a brief glimpse of “Stairway To Heaven” as a fan was escorted out after having some difficulties and Dave said he was willing to perform the whole song if we wanted him to. Naturally the crowd were egging this on but Dave pulled the plug on it, saying the fan was fine and we didn’t need to play them off, instead switching to the iconic “Big Me” from their debut album, which again had everyone in full voice. The raw and stripped back acoustic sing along was yet another magical moment and the brief acoustic block was rounded out with “Under You”.

As the sky began to gradually darken, the rest of the band came back out, the electric instruments were picked back up and things kicked off again with a newer track called “Nothing At All”. With its choppy groove and big hitting chorus, it was what you’d expect from a Foo Fighters track. “Monkey Wrench” quickly followed this up, and the energy and volume increased for one of their big anthems. Extending the transition section before the big finale, Grohl demanded screaming from the crowd before the rapid fire, unhinged, screaming vocal section and it was at this point in the night, where any doubts about how loud tonight was were erased. This shifted into another big drum solo section from Mr Freese to end the track, and as things eased off once it wrapped up, Dave brought his daughter Violet out on stage to sing “Show Me How” from the band’s most recent album. It was a rather sweet moment in what had mostly been a full on rock and roll night thus far and the die-hard fans in the audience lapped it up, cheering Violet on.

As the show hit the 2-hour mark, Dave paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins, performing “Aurora”, the track which was their former drummers favourite Foo Fighters song. The crowd lit up, thousands of mobile phone lights glittering in outstretched arms, it’s a more modern take on the sea of lighters in the air, but the impact is still the same. Add in the main light rig finally getting more use as the tendrils of darkness continued to encroach, it was one hell of a sight and part of me bemoans not having a professional photographer on hand to snap a few shots to try and provide a suitable visual reference for you all.

“Best Of You” came up next and the request to sing it loud was obliged. The empowering and uplifting feel of the track matched the intensity of the sing along and the massive sing along ‘woahs’ led into an extended section with some cool sounding guitar licks and live theatrics as guitar and drums went wild. With a request for the crowd to come to every Foo Fighters show, Grohl kicked the track back into gear for the big final chorus sequences and with the sky finally darkening, the last stretch of the show was starting to begin.

The obligatory leave the stage to a howl of feedback led to just the crowd as the only major source of noise, and they were in full force, resuming the ‘woah’ singing. Cheering and clapping soon followed and the excitement was building for the return of the band to the stage. Walking out with a double neck SG, Dave took centre stage as “The Teacher” started the final stretch off. Bathed in a moody purple and blue light, it fit the moody vibes of the start of the track before the main lights came up and things picked up. Not quite the typical Foo Fighters kind of track with its darker feel in parts, it still landed well with those in attendance. Switching to the 12-string neck, the moody lighting returned again and it was possibly the first time in the set where the crowd was simply taking it all in and not in full force.

Things hit another level as Dave invited Shane Hawkins, son of Taylor, out to join them on drums for “I’ll stick around”, joking that he was grateful he was willing to wait 3 hours to join them on stage. Much like his father, Shane hit the skins hard and with the intensity and energy Taylor was loved for, and again, it was a touching moment for all involved, the Foo Fighters family and the fans in attendance.

With this wrapped up, there was only one track which could finish this night, and that is “Everlong”. Naturally the loudest cheer of the night hit. The energy which was present for the show was pushed one last time, bodies jumped, voices coaxed out one last sing along and the explosive finale lived up to its name with some nicely timed fireworks to wrap it up in style. As the lights came on, “London Calling” by The Clash came over the speakers as the thousands in attendance began the slow procession out of the stadium, leaving it with a lingering chorus of fans singing the “woah-oh” refrain.

In terms of content, performance and value, the Foo Fighters had it all to offer tonight and for those at the show, we certainly got the best of them.

(Fraggle)