The Foo Fighters lit up the stage on Saturday, making an unexpected stop in Phoenix on the State Fair circuit at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Fresh off an acoustic-researching, low-key national tour which many have hailed as 'lame,' lead singer Dave Grohl was in rare form. It seemed as though he was getting a monkey off his back and ready to rock once again.
The man could not stand still. Not long into the set, Grohl jumped off the stage to meet the audience with a 'whammied' 'hello' from his black Gibson T-Bird. In a breakout jam from the 90s tune "Stacked Actors," Grohl guitar-dueled fellow guitarist Chris Shiflett to the death. At this point, the excitement and energy threw the heart into the throat; it was ready to escape with the next scream. Then drummer Taylor Hawkins delivered a solo until the skins were chapped.
Grohl took a solitary break after a baker's dozen of tunes played in front of the psyched fair-goers and die-hard Foo-fans. After briefly being in the thick of the pit, Grohl said with chide in his voice, "You never really can tell how rowdy an audience is until you have to navigate through it. I got some titty twisters!" Screams arose from the coliseum.
Veterans of Foo Fighters' shows featured at many venues on different tours figured they had the Foo bag of tricks on lockdown. Well, it goes to show you never can tell what Grohl's got cooking in his melon. One also can never tell when the band is freewheeling and riffing songs as they go along. Experienced listeners may pick out small intricacies in songs never heard before.
Near show-end, the Foo Fighters divert to the current radio single, "DOA." This is not many a fans' personal favorite, but Taylor kept it interesting by changing tempos throughout the song and mixing up drums fills. The creative factor is always appreciated from the percussion section.
Taking a guess at an encore song is not difficult, but fans are always relieved when the hit "Everlong" does indeed echo from the king size cabinet speakers. This is the moment during which Foo-goers think of kissing the girl (or guy, for those girls with initiative). The song plays on, you are glad you did not miss this show, and all is well.
The Foo Fighters will always be a great performance band. These shows will never be overshadowed by band members' previous career paths and choices. This leads one to think, "What's next?" Does Dave Grohl get bored when he is at the top-notch level in his craft, playing show after show? No; I say neigh. Thousands of screaming fans gathered at one venue with one common purpose-to love and worship you. I don't think that will ever get old. Wanton desire never gets old; having someone think you're kickass while doing your life's quest will always be worth the journey.
Papa Grohl, which is a title recently bestowed upon him, has known this all for more than a decade. Congrats to Dave Grohl on the addition to the fam and to the Foos for being rad.
Reach the reporter at: bradley.butterfield@asu.edu.
