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| Photo credit: Ken Leanfore |
09 December 2011
Thursday December 8
Sydney Football Stadium, NSW
Sydney Football Stadium, NSW
More than 47,000 fans packed Sydney Football Stadium last night for an unadulterated night of rock ‘n’ roll madness from one of the biggest mainstays to come out of the ‘90s.
Warming the crowd amidst pitiable spits of rain was beer-bellied duo, Tenacious D. Opening with Kielbasa, Jack Black hilariously spieled into the set’s comic routine where each track weaved into their onstage antics.
“That was not good enough for Sydney. We said we would provide the lightening and the Foos would provide the thunder!
Between tracks about Roadies and Star Wars references, Black and guitarist Kyle Gass offered up ‘an interpretive dance of metal’ and the highlight, Fuck Her Gently. “This one goes out to all the ladies,” Black said. “But we’re singing it to the dudes for the ladies.”
When the Foo Fighters bounded onto the 25ft hydraulic stage, the stadium crowd had doubled to greet an effervescent Dave Grohl, whose head banging in opening hits All My Life and The Pretender were more joyous than aggressive. But so it should be; since the band’s Goat Island gig in April this year, they’ve released a Grammy nominated album (which was recorded on analogue tape in a garage) among six other nods, screened two documentaries and won an MTV VMA.
This concert was always going to be a highlight for most rock-loving Australians; they’re the closest tour offering to AC/DC this year and as Grohl performed his best Young-inspired duck walk, it was clear they knew it too.
During My Hero about ten swift-moving Foo fans broke through a security barricade into the front GA area as Grohl ran half the football field’s length down the centre runway.
“You know we don't play those fuckin' one hour 45 minute shows,” he yelled. ”We don't do that shit. We play until the neighbours call the fuckin’ cops!”
This tied in perfectly with the first line of Learn To Fly where Grohl sang: “Run and tell all of the angels. This could take all night.” He even commented on the crowd demographic when he changed the lyrics in Breakout to “I’ll chase your crusty 40-something ass down.”
An unexpected highlight came when Grohl introduced each band member while cameras zoomed in on pianist Rami Jaffee holding a joint; “Sydney wassuuuuuup,” he croaked through a haze of smoke.
When Grohl introduced their shirtless drummer he said (to hoards of screaming women), “I honestly believe the reason we play stadiums is because we have a drummer named Taylor fuckin’ Hawkins.”
Hawkins looked worn and tired but proved his chops throughout and even managed to sing two full tracks in Cold Day In The Sun and Pink Floyd cover In The Flesh.
Warring instrumentals were a constant throughout the set, right after Pat Smear smashed his guitar against an amp (and kept playing the jumble of spiking strings) Grohl and guitarist Chris Shiflett played out an indulgent solo-battle in Long Road To Ruin.
Grohl was as entertaining between tracks as he was when piercing our eardrums with that 17-year trained scream. His explanation of rock ‘n’ roll was endearing, as was his take on 21st Century bands. “Don t get up on the stage with some fucking computers and call yourself a fuckin’ rock ‘n’ roll band… Next time one of those fuckin’ bands gets up and they plug in their shit, tell ‘em your good friend Dave said this.” Monkey Wrench was met and played with as more fervour than a thousand fervour-generating computers.
Of the few recent Wasting Light tracks, These Days received the most applause; perhaps because Grohl’s precursor was “it's my favourite song that I ever wrote in my whole entire life,” or because the upcoming music video for it will be live footage from this Australian tour.
It’s commonly a boring moment when a band leaves the stage only to return minutes (sometimes seconds) later to play an expected-encore. But Foo Fighters kept us guessing as they screened footage of Grohl and Hawkins backstage. While Grohl was sculling beer and eating chicken, Hawkins faux-convinced him into a six-song encore.
A healthy burp was omitted before Grohl sang Wheels on the runway’s raised platform to fans in the cheap seats. “Let's hear it for the sad ass motherfuckers in the back seats,” he said. Of the five-track encore the Queen cover Tie Your Mother Down was a favourite for Jack Black’s accompanying scissor-kicks and Everlong for its reminder of just how many years this band has graced our sound systems with each of their unwavering rock ‘n’ roll offerings.
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