By Bryan F. Ahearn
Nary a breath existed between the 23-song setlist.
That the Foo Fighters were playing their largest-ever concert in the United States after 30 years was not lost on frontman Dave Grohl Saturday night in Denver, as the vivaciously energetic frontman froze, on more than one occasion, at the sheer size and attendance at Empower Field—home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
But, as always the case with the Foo, lapses in energy and emotion that night were hard to come by, as one by one, the band proudly upheld the band’s 30-year tradition as one of the hardest working, entertaining, and accomplished, artists of our time—and quite possibly, the biggest rock and roll band in the world today.
The band opened at dusk, where before the first song even started, Grohl charged to the front of the stage and remarked with his trademark howl, “Whoa, sh-t! That’s a lot of people!!”
The opener “All My Life” then brought the crowd of just over 50,000 out of the fading stadium shadows and onto their feet, from front row to top deck, for what would culminate into an almost 3-hour, 120-decible jukebox that spanned the outfit’s entire 30-year discography.
Several song’s later, the band really spread its wings with “The Pretender,” the first of fist-over-fist alt-rock mega hits from the rock band’s repertoire to make an appearance, before mellowing out with “Walk,” against a backdrop of thousands of lit cellphones.
That scene, as was the case all night, was something out of a dream, one that was not lost on Grohl, as set to a swirly, cosmic-sounding synth organ that blended into “Times Like These,” he began by narrating that “You know…this is the biggest American Foo Fighters show we have -ever- played in 30 years.”
“And you know what? By the end of the night, we’re going to be best f-ckng friends. It’s true!”
And he wast right.
Was. He. Ever. Right.
Ever the perfect host, where no soul is ever turned away, Grohl set off self-DJ-ing the best rock and roll party this side of the galaxy, with of course “My Hero,” and my personal favorite “Alandria,” where the clean tones he was pulling out of his signature Pelham Blue Gibson, right before the second verse especially, were some of the coolest I heard all night.
Bright, sparkling, and all-out rejuvenating, that moment—those simple guitar tones during that one song from 2011—finally…summed up what I hadn’t quite been able to put into words about that night: Grohl had brought several generations of fans together in what was turning into the Super Bowl of playlists at an NFL venue.
One of “These Days,” followed—perhaps with a few tears of my own as I was hearing thousands scream along to “Easy for you to say: Your heart has never been broken! Your pride has never been stolen!”
Chills. Chills that Grohl, who knows more heartache than one deserves to know in two lifetimes, spoke for us, and invited us to sing along.
“It’s not Beethoven!” he quipped. “If you don’t know the words, just look at the guy the next to you in his mid-50s and do what he’s doing.”
However, for all the playlist pageantry that adorned our ears that evening, it was the memory of one Foo Fighter who adorned our hearts: the late Taylor Hawkins.
“Tonight I saw something flying by, and whenever I see something flying by, I think ‘Oh, sh-t!’,” Grohl pulled in a darting breath (which just had to have been between held-back tears) and said, “I feel like he’s here.”
Of course that lead into “Aurora,” and what Dave called one of Taylor’s favorites, complete with that beguiling drum outro that rolls and rolls and rolls, until it…much before we were ready for it to…just stops.
And in that night of Mile High Magic, that moment, and that song, stole the show.
Indeed, that’s life’s wonder, and what lies entrenched in Dave’s artistry: Not being sad that it’s over, but happy it happened in the first place.
It’s why 60,000 fans bought tickets, to share in something they could say happened, and that if anything could ever feel this good again, they’d have this show to compare the feeling to.
Yes, of course the band ended with “Everlong.” And of course, barely anyone left before it was over. Several days later, something tells me plenty of people are still there.
Indeed, if everything could ever feel this real forever, it would be August 3rd, 2024 in Denver, Colorado.
Review: 5/5
MavStar 