Foo Fighters – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 20th January @ NIB Stadium, Perth WA
Foo Fighters
nib Stadium, Perth WA
January 20th, 2018
Supports: Weezer and Cosmic Kahuna
“I’ve got another confession to make…..”, I love Foo’s, and so does Perth after the band landed a knockout blow overnight in the ‘according to Gene Simmons (KISS)’ dying world of rock ‘n’roll. Well, Gene you can go get well and truly because this balmy Perth night rock orchestra was nothing short of amazing and I don’t say this lightly but this show was hands down the greatest Foo’s show in these parts….ever. So in sync was the band with each member, musically. Front man, Dave Grohl and his trusty sidekick, drummer, Taylor Hawkins leading the way, show casing their immense talents. Two and a half hours of rock ‘n’roll at it’s finest, Grohl repeatedly baiting the audience of 30+ thousand, “You guys want a rock ‘n roll show tonight, right? You know we have quite a few songs. This is going to be a long night Perth”!
Rewinding slightly, the two support bands need some credit. First up, Melbourne’s three-piece of psychedelic punk garage rock if there is such a thing in Cosmic Kahuna, who did their best to not get lost in the massive stage, plowing through a quick little half hour set. The band’s album, Paintstripper providing the majority of the set and with the crowd filtering through the mass surrounds of NIB Stadium, the heads were nodding in approval of the cool vibe being released via these Melbournians.
L.A’s iconic and perhaps ‘çult followed’, Weezer were next. Most noted for their plethora of ’90s anthems including ‘Buddy Holly‘, ‘El Scorcho‘, ‘Undone (The Sweater Song)‘ and ‘Say It Ain’t So‘, so much so that the sing-a-long karaoke mob were in their element throughout the elongated bar queues. Front man, Rivers Cuomo clearly revelling in the sun dressed in his fine whites with black tie and looking very Michael J.Fox ‘Back to the Future‘ like, even donning a sombrero for some tracks. The bespectacled vocalist as charismatic and charming as his lyrics.
By the time Foo Fighters gathered on stage, NIB Stadium was heaving. A mass throng of ready to rock fans and it wasn’t long that Grohl and co delivered the goods as they ripped into the first single from new album, Concrete and Gold, ‘Run‘. Probably one of the heaviest Foo tracks in their repertoire, it quickly turned the standing area into an energetic dance/mosh fest and was followed with the raging, ‘All My Life‘. The classic riff turned into an expanded masterpiece, Grohl and his horsemen jamming out for five or so minutes of mayhem teasing the crowd, as he often did throughout the night in the elongated jam sesh. Just superb.
Crowd sing-a-longs, ‘Learn to Fly‘, ‘The Pretender‘, ‘My Hero‘ were monstrous….let’s say epic, words can’t describe the involvement by the crowd during the night. 30,000+ fans screaming, trying in vain to outshine the god-like Grohl.
‘Sunday Rain‘ had Taylor Hawkins and his jam packed japanese theme drum kit or as Grohl called it, “his sushi train”, rise 20 feet from the stage in an Eiffel Tower-like construction as his drumming prowess coupled with his stellar vocals slayed, before trailing off into an immense drum solo. Clichés aside this was a rock show that deserved the usual suspects. Enter drum solos, guitar solos, extended jam sessions, humour and of course the mass array of the Foo Fighters catalogue to enjoy. Are you getting the picture yet? This show had it all!
Amongst all the riffage and Grohl charm was the stage show. A chunk of lights and lasers backed up by some massive video screens that scaled either side of the band’s monstrosity of a stage.
More highlights included a killer cover of the Queen/David Bowie track, ‘Under Pressure‘, with Hawkins looking all Scarborough Beach decked out in board shorts and tank top, hopping over his towering drum kit to take on lead vocals as Grohl assumed the drumming duties. As stated earlier, Hawkins is an amazing vocalist and one of the main reasons that Foo Fighters have few peers in the upper echelon of rock concerts around the world at present. An incredible rendition, but one that had me shaking my head a little as a 20 something year old nearby was overheard asking her boyfriend, “I didn’t know Dave Grohl played drums“? OMFG!
The obligatory band intros gave each member a little opportunity to blast out a 20-30 second cover. Guitarist, Pat Smear, the normally unassuming shy guy on stage revelling in blasting out the riff of The Ramones‘, ‘Blitzkreig Bop‘.
Fast forward to the encore, Grohl heads down the 80 metre long runway stage, acoustic guitar in hand as he plays the famous ‘Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners‘ instrumental then touches more heart strings as he relieves his famous 2016 Oscars performance as he play The Beatles, ‘Blackbird‘, an amazing subtle but beautiful moment, just the rock-God and acoustic guitar mesmerising the entire crowd. From there, ‘Times Like These‘, ‘This Is a Call‘ and finishing, as always with ‘Everlong‘.
Foo Fighters had delivered one of the most epic rock shows of all time in Perth. I’m not exaggerating. The greatest rock band on earth delivering the greatest rock concert in your town – DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR! Grohl and the boys are in fine form. 10/10
Foo Fighters Setlist
Run
All My Life
Learn to Fly
The Pretender
The Sky Is a Neighborhood
Rope (with extended band jam)
Sunday Rain
(Drum Solo Intro)
My Hero (half Dave solo, half with band)
These Days
Walk
Let It Die
White Limo
Arlandria
Breakout
Dirty Water
Another One Bites the Dust / Blitzkrieg Bop (Played during Band Introductions)
Under Pressure (Queen cover) (Taylor on lead vocals, Dave on Drums)
Monkey Wrench
Best of You
Encore:
Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners (Dave acoustic solo)
Blackbird (The Beatles cover) (Dave acoustic solo)
Times Like These (half Dave solo, half with band)
This Is a Call
Everlong
Review by @plugga73
Revisit our Top 10 Fooies Videos here
Photo Gallery by Kim Anderson – Please credit Kim Anderson and Wall of Sound if you repost.
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Cosmic Kahuna
Weezer
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters – 2018 Australian Tour
Tue 23 Jan • Coopers Stadium, ADELAIDE • RSVP
w/ Weezer & Amyl and the Sniffers
Thu 25 Jan • Suncorp Stadium, BRISBANE • RSVP
w/ Weezer & DZ Deathrays
Sat 27 Jan • ANZ Stadium, SYDNEY • RSVP
w/ Weezer & The Preatures
Tue 30 Jan • Etihad Stadium, MELBOURNE • RSVP
w/ Weezer & Clowns
All shows – All Ages. Tickets Here
Yeah, I was there, and I love the Foo Fighters too, but Taylor should get rid of his horrible new drum kit with the nasty Donna Summer disco Toms, and go back to using a rock kit. I thought Dave made it quite clear on the night after playing this monstrosity in “Under Pressure” how much he hated the thing. Dave has a way of subtly showing disapproval. He would never say it outright, but…..
Still don’t get what the keyboard player does after 3 times seeing the FF’s at NIB. Heard an organ wash once in the whole 2 and a bit hours and apart from that he just seems to clog up frequencies which made it hard to hear Chris’ excellent guitar work.
My dream lineup would be just Dave/Taylor/Chris/Nat, keep it nice and simple and let the music speak through without the clutter.
Wish I’d seen them in those classic “Times like these” days, but those days are over.
As I said, love the Foo Fighters, and will always turn up to see them, but since Pat rejoined (3 guitarists, really?) and the keyboard player joined, things have got a bit messy in my view.