Foo Fighters

HANNAH HAMILTON said:

We’re halfway through the Foos’ gig and Dave Grohl is complaining about having his underwear ripped off. (Understandable really, considering the 8,000-strong crowd stuffed into this hideous venue would flog their Nirvana T-shirts for a drop of the man’s sweat).

Blazing through anthems such as ‘All My Life’, ‘Learn To Fly’, ‘The One’, ‘Everlong’ and ‘Monkey Wrench’, it’s clear that Grohl’s No Shit approach has done the proverbial business: solid songs, played with fervour by a bunch of ordinary blokes in jeans and T-shirts, keep the crowd rapt; instantly transcending the desire for Tool-esque visuals, blue body paint or vomiting nuns a la Cradle of Filth.

Still, he does separate the men from the boys with a teasing intro to Pearl Jam’s ‘Jeremy’, and in pure anti-rock stylee, seems shocked when a front row groupie flashes her assets at him, declaring “I don’t want to see your boobs! You’re not even old enough to smoke!”

Although there’s no sign of PA-scaling (unlike their ’00 Olympia jaunt), the Foos rock out royally, the reverberations from Taylor Hawkins’ kick drum dislodging extraneous confetti from the ceiling (undoubtedly leftover from the Childline show). There’s no doubt about it, the Foos are fighting fit.

WHAT THE FANS HAD TO SAY:

::MARK COX reviewed the gig, and asked the Foos: "If you could jam with any band, at any point in history, who would it be?"

As the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered with excitement, all that could be seen was a large curtain bearing the classic Foo Fighters logo. Then, when the band burst into those power chords from 'All My Life', you knew it was going to be a good gig - and that it was. They played older, much-loved songs - such as 'For All The Cows', 'Monkeywrench' and of course 'Everlong' - as well as some material from their new album, including 'Have It All',
'Times Like These' and last but not least the very mellow 'Tired', featuring just Grohl and his guitar onstage, accompanied by fellow Fighter Chris Shifflet.

After the show, being a Hot Press winner, my friend and I went backstage to meet the band and they're seriously the nicest people you could meet. They made you feel welcome and managed to have a good conversation. All in all a fan couldn't have asked for more and I'm really grateful.

By the way: in answer to my question, Dave said he'd love to have played with Led Zeppelin back in 1973 - or Queens Of The Stone Age anytime! Taylor said Genesis back in their earlier years and Chris said either The Beatles or The Clash, as he was heavily influenced by both. Unfortunately I never got to ask Nate.

::PAUL JONES, a hardcore, experienced Foos fan, still rated this gig as one of their finest:

Now, I've been fortunate enough to see Foo Fighters 13 times in the past 8 years, but I have never seen a crowd so frenzied as at the Point on Wednesday. From the moment the guitar riff to 'All My Life' kicked in, the place throbbed.

And what a show it was. The band are now halfway through their European jaunt and, seemingly comfortable in their move from concert hall to arena, the band didn't falter once. And for a place so big it'd be very easy to lose the crowd along the way, but thanks to their setup - kind of like Black Flag, playing on Black Sabbath's stage - it wasn't the case for the Foos.

Having Dave Grohl as a frontman doesn't do any harm either, and tonight we see the many faces of Dave: crowdpleaser (wrapping an Irish flag round his mic), comedian (cracks about sheep and his underwear) and music fan (dropping an impromptu Husker Du track into the setlist before a Foos song that namechecks a Husker Du album). We even get a piece of paternal Dave when someone front and centre sees fit to whip off their top ("Put them away
and sit down. You're not even old enough to smoke I don't wanna see your boobs").

Foo Fighters have never been able to come up with a tune and leave it alone - and many tracks tonight get reworkings, new endings and twisted drum fills. Like all great concerts it was over too soon, and we were spat all hot and sweaty into the night, but fuck, they're a breath of fresh air, them Foos.

::NATASHA DONOVAN is thoroughly impressed by a highly visual, non-stop show with loads of audience interaction - and afterward, shares a smirk with Dave about a certain famous rock widow:

Well what can I say? Actually I can say quite a lot about this gig - but I don't think there are enough words or adjectives big and wonderful enough to describe it. Being a regular gig-goer I have to say the Point is not my favourite venue and I thought it would detract from the atmosphere, but I was proved very, very wrong.

Supporting act Cave In warmed the quite large crowd up nicely, with what I would describe as a Green Day-ish sound: probably due to the fact that lead singer Stephen Brodsky tries to sing like Billy Joe (whether this is intentional or not is another question). Cave In did show a bit of diversity, at times sounding like Foo wannabes, at others displaying wonderful talent, and they finished up with a Zeppelin tune. I never usually stay for the support acts, as I figure if you don't get into them after 2 songs, well then it's time to go get drunk... but these guys seemed to grab and hold the attention of a near-full house. Not bad for an unknown band.

The (neverending) half hour interlude seemed to stir excitement and anticipation into the crowd. You could tell tonight was going to be something special. And finally - out came the white curtain with the FF logo, the lights came up, the curtain dropped and the boys broke into 'All My Life'. The song ended with fantastic strobe lighting which flickered at such a speed that it distorted your vision of the stage, making it look like a drunken blur - and we all felt drunker, both spiritually and physically.

'Monkey Wrench' was the clincher, with the entire crowd singing along. Dave decided to liven it up even more by jumping down into the crowd and having his underwear nearly torn off (hormonal girls, eh?) but there was more to come: a young girl flashed her boobs, only to have Dave tell her to "put those away girl! You ain't even old enough to smoke cigarettes." Much to the joy of the crowd.

All the hits were played ('My Hero', 'For All The Cows', 'Overdrive' and 'Everlong'), each one blending seamlessly into the next. Last time the guys played here they stayed a week - if only we could have a repeat performance! These guys could do no wrong. Having said that, according to Chris, they fluffed a few lines - but nobody noticed, they were too engrossed in the amazing lightshow and ever-changing backdrops. These guys should be in the Yellow Pages under 'Party Planners'.

At one stage Dave said they're not like other bands, they don't like playing large venues, and that they prefer intimate venues. Then the guys started into Pearl Jam's 'Jeremy', only to stop abruptly. Is that Pearl Jam / Nirvana-esque feud still ongoing? I wonder does Dave know that not too long ago, Pearl Jam stood on the same stage and delivered an equally excellent performance. Eddie Vedder even went so far as to crowdsurf, much to the delight of my friend, who got to touch him.

The only heart-sinking moment occured when Dave introduced his girlfriend Jordan... sorry girls. An encore of 3 songs was had, and that was it. Excellent show, nice guys, lots of interaction, great crowd... magical. Let's hope these guys 'Stick Around' Ireland more often!

Afterwards, my question for the Foos was, "Would ye buy Nirvana's new album... if you didnt get it for free?"

Dave said, "Well, I probably would get it for free, but no I wouldn't."

I said I wasn't buying it for just one new song. He said, "Yeah, you've heard all the stuff before." I then said, even the new song we've heard before cos Courtney did it... and he gave me a look, and we exchanged knowing glances and I nodded... ha ha!

I got him to sign my QOTSA album, and he said he had great fun doing the album. He loves the record. I asked him when Lanegan is coming over and he said that Lanegan's a really strange guy: "He's really quiet, but once you get to know him, he's really goofy." He never got to know him before - much to my surprise, as Lanegan and Cobain were friends. Apparently he doesn't like touring and he's very introverted.

That's all I can think of to be honest - except that we got a picture of me and my mate Shelley with Dave... he's sitting with me on my chair, his legs are either side of mine and his hands were around my waist... hahahaha, that's as close as i got! Really sweet guys. I gave Dave the Frames' Dance The Devil, Turn's new one and Mundy's one. He said it was "really sweet".