“You know it’s going to be a long night. Are you ready for it?" Dave Grohl asked a sold-out Anfield on night two of the Foo Fighters’ two-night residency at Liverpool’s iconic stadium. Grohl certainly wasn’t wrong, as the six-piece delivered a mammoth three-hour set, underlining why the Foos are like a fine wine that continues to get better with every single performance.
The UK has felt like a home away from home for the Foo Fighters, who played some of their very first shows in the country after forming in 1994, something Grohl attested to at Anfield. “Our first festival, Reading 1995. First show was at King’s College (in London). We only had 12 songs, so we played 13,” he joked before remembering how their first arena, first festival headline and first stadium shows all came in the UK. The Foo Fighters love the UK, and the UK certainly loves the Foo Fighters.
The Foo Fighters performed 'Hey, Johnny Park' on night two of their two-night residency at Anfield Stadium on Saturday night. They brought their short run to a close with a joyous performance.placeholder image
The Foo Fighters performed 'Hey, Johnny Park' on night two of their two-night residency at Anfield Stadium on Saturday night. They brought their short run to a close with a joyous performance. | Photo by Christian Evans
Whenever they return to these shores, whether it be for a short run of intimate dates, such as their shows at Manchester’s O2 Ritz or London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this year, or stadium shows like Anfield, Foos fans always show up in full force, ready for the biggest singalongs they’ve ever experienced, and the shows have the cathartic energy of a homecoming. That energy from the band and audience alike was palpable on night two at Anfield as the Foos emerged through the pink mist coming down from the rafters, with Grohl racing to the end of the ramp to what was unofficially the B-stage, hyping the crowd up even more – not that they needed it, but it amplified the level of excitement even further before uttering, “Night two, are you f***ing ready?”.
Night two was certainly ready for an evening of turbo-charged hits, as were the band themselves. The Foos hit the ground running with a ferocious opening of ‘All My Life' and ‘The Pretender’, complemented by a barrage of distorted guitars, Nate Mendel’s driving bass lines, the powerhouse drumming of Ilan Rubin and Rami Jaffee’s atmospheric keyboard playing.
A rendition of ‘Times Like These’ burst into life with a euphoric singalong; ‘My Hero’ created a collective unifying release of emotion, which Grohl stepped back to witness himself, allowing the audience to briefly take over before one last soaring chorus; ‘Rope’ is a stadium-shaking maelstrom with Rubin’s pounding drum line, punchy guitars from Grohl, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear and an extended jam for good measure with an intricate solo from Shiflett cutting through the wall of sound. And an early rendition of ‘Learn To Fly' – one of the band’s most signature tracks – coming early in the set perfectly underlines just how deep their discography is.
Foo Fighters' rhythm guitarist Pat Smear was constantly beaming as the Foos performed a rendition of Times Like These at Anfield on Saturday night.placeholder image
Foo Fighters' rhythm guitarist Pat Smear was constantly beaming as the Foos performed a rendition of Times Like These at Anfield on Saturday night. | Photo by Christian Evans
“If you’re wondering why we play song after song after song, it’s because we’ve got too many songs,” Grohl joked. “We can’t play all the songs. We don’t have enough time, so we like to play as many as we can in a row to sing along with you,” he added. When it comes to a Foo Fighters show, you’re genuinely spoilt for choice when it comes to the Foos, so much so that tracks such as ‘The Sky Is A Neighborhood’, ‘Of All People’ and ‘Your Favorite Toy’ from the newly released album, 'Something From Nothing’, ‘Arlandria’, 'Run', ‘Long Road To Ruin', and ‘Skin and Bones’ (my personal favourite), amongst others, can be absent from the setlist, and it remains a stacked show.
However, that’s the beauty of it. With such a deep discography, the Foos are able to keep every single performance fresh and exciting, and even now they’re still refining their shows. Rather than opting for the usual, “Here's Nate Mendel on bass guitar” with a quick solo during a quick band introduction, the Foos have introduced a medley of pre-Foos material for the ‘Take Cover Tour’, allowing each member minus Grohl to showcase themselves individually in a unique segment.
Shiflett selected No Use For A Name’s ‘Invincible’, Mendel picking Sunny Day Real Estate’s 'Seven', and Smear picking ‘Manimal’ by LA’s punk-rock pioneers The Germs, Jaffee with ‘One Headlight’ by The Wallflowers, and The New Regime’s ‘Tap Dancing in A Minefield' for Rubin, who played guitar on the latter while Grohl climbed the drum kit. It’s a segment that underlined that the Foos are more than simply Grohl and are an all-star roster of supergroup-calibre musicians.
“Since we’re going to be here all night, we thought we’d give you a breather,” a charming Grohl declared before a stripped-back segment on the B-Stage. ‘Wheels’ was breathtakingly intimate with Grohl on an acoustic guitar; Jaffee’s rich, atmospheric keyboard part was a particularly notable highlight. ‘Marigold’ saw the frontman reflect on writing the track when he first joined Nirvana. ‘Window’ was a surprise addition to the set, but arguably the biggest came soon after when the band spotted a bloke dressed as a tube of Mentos. Subsequently, inviting the fan on stage, he danced with Jaffee and a beaming Smear as Mendel, Rubin and Grohl giggled before taking over on lead vocals and recording himself performing with the Foos, who were happy to get involved in.
The Mentos Guy, a fan from the standing pit, was brought on stage with the Foo Fighters for a rendition of 'Big Me', dancing with Rami Jaffee and Pat Smear and took over lead vocals in an entertaining moment at Anfield.placeholder image
The Mentos Guy, a fan from the standing pit, was brought on stage with the Foo Fighters for a rendition of 'Big Me', dancing with Rami Jaffee and Pat Smear and took over lead vocals in an entertaining moment at Anfield. | Photo by Christian Evans
Whenever you see the Foo Fighters, you can always expect the unexpected, and at the end of the day, what makes it such a special experience is that it’s just six musicians having the time of their lives and treating 40,000+ to one of the best experiences of their respective lives. Later in the set, ‘Monkey Wrench’ was delivered with crunching distortion and left your heart racing before Rubin mesmerised 40,000+ fans with a phenomenal drum solo. ‘Hey, Johnny Park’ was a delightful addition to a packed setlist; ‘Aurora’, dedicated to Taylor Hawkins, was undoubtedly the most poignant moment of the evening.
“Let’s sing this one together,” Grohl asked before ‘Best of You’, which served as the ultimate crowd-pleasing anthem at Anfield. ‘The Teacher’, dedicated to Grohl’s mother Virginia, was a masterclass in musicianship; a cover of The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She's So Heavy)’ driven by Grohl’s soaring vocals, Mendel’s driving bass and Rubin’s tight drumming left everyone awestruck, and wrapping things up with ‘Everlong’ provided the most fitting exclamation point for an evening that was joyous, cathartic and a spectacular display in musicianship.
“I wish everything was like this,” Grohl stated. We do too, Dave.
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