Tuesday 19th September 2017
You wouldn’t expect to have such a great concert in the middle of the working week, but Dave Grohl and his band of merry men shook The O2 with a near 3 hour set of hits that wowed and amazed the crowd throughout.
The band begin their set with a rocking rendition of ‘I’ll Stick Around’ and then quickly blister through ‘All My Life’ before wowing the crowd with the almighty ‘Learn To Fly’. This show, as well as being part of the 10th Birthday Celebrations for the Arena, was to promote the release of Foo Fighters ninth studio album CONCRETE AND GOLD. Yes, there was plenty of new songs too…
‘The Sky Is A Neighbourhood’ was slotted into the setlist early and it was amazing to see almost everyone singing this. Along with some other new tracks, we do get a version of ‘Rope’ with a greatly extended outro and ‘My Hero’ which begins as an intimate performance between Dave Grohl and the 16000 fans inside The O2.
Fancy a cover? ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ was performed by the rock band, and it was played in the presence of Roger Taylor and Brian May who were in attendance. Want another cover? How about ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ with Rick Astley singing on stage with them? This was indeed so damn good, you couldn’t help but rock out to it.
The night continued with a great blend of tunes from all nine albums, I can’t think of many songs that were left out, this was a real collection of hits! When you get to ‘Best Of You’ and ‘Everlong’ at the end of the show, this is where the ultimate conclusion comes in. I will say I sung hard with every song that came on. Never have I known so many tracks by one band at a show.
For a one-off show in the UK, this was done with incredible precision and sounded fantastic throughout. Playing on stage for nearly 3 hours, the guys didn’t seem to beat a single drop of sweat. Dave Grohl was as usual on top form and could out-sing every single person in that arena. Then you have the awesome Taylor Hawkins on drums and then guitarists Nate Mendel, Pat Smear and Chris Shifett and not forgetting Rami Jaffee on keyboards. The whole band were tight and controlled without hitting a duff note.
I loved this gig, the Foo Fighters met all my expectations and more. I was unable to see the guys in 2015 when Dave broke his leg, but this surely was the best concert I have ever attended. Can it be topped? Only when the Foo’s return to these shores!
Final rating: 10/10
Written by Jonjo Cosgrove
