djfrosty

During a three-song acoustic set, Grohl pulled out the gorgeous “Ballad for the Beaconsfield Miners” from 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. He wrote it for miners trapped in a Tasmanian mine in 2006 who requested an iPod with Foos songs while they waited to be rescued. He usually only pulls it out when the band is in Australia or New Zealand — according to setlist.fm, the last time Grohl played the song in the U.S. was in 2008 — so it was a real treat to hear a rare instrumental by the group and to experience this gorgeous rarity. Another standout from the acoustic set was “Statues” from the same album.

It’s nothing new, but it’s still miraculous just how hard Grohl goes in concert every single night. From the opening screams on “The Teacher” to main-set closer “Best of You,” he yelled with the gut-busting intensity of someone exorcising their demons. It seems impossible that he doesn’t damage his vocal cords, but three decades in, he’s still able to go from a feral scream to a whispered vocal seemingly effortlessly. 

At Sunday night’s shows, the next-generation game was strong. Grohl’s 18-year old daughter, Violet, whom he introduced by calling her his favorite vocalist, joined him for “Show Me How,” a song the pair wrote for Grohl’s late mother. Taylor Hawkins’ son, 18-year old Shane, came out during the encore to take over drums from Josh Freese on the rip-roaring “I’ll Stick Around.”  He’s joined the band quite a few times since his father’s  death two years ago, and he grows more confident and ferocious each time. Though he and Grohl didn’t greet each other when he first came out, right before “Everlong,” Hawkins came running back onstage and gave Grohl a sweet, brief hug. 

Along with the screaming, there’s a lot of smiling and a lot of cursing. Grohl really may set the record for the most use of the profanity “mother—-er” in concert, but it’s all so good-natured that even the most prudish can hardly take offense — though if you’re prudish, you’re probably not at a Foos show. The simple fact is, as he roamed the stage, drenched in sweat, it was clear that no one was having as good a time as Grohl, and that energy is infectious. In the many times I’ve seen the Foo Fighters play, I’ve never seen Grohl be anything less than 100% in terms of dedication, enthusiasm and appreciation, and Sunday night was no different. His bandmates — Freese, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel and keyboarist Rami Jaffee — are all sturdy, but fairly static, leaving Grohl to do the heavy lifting when it comes to crowd rousing. With only three shows left on the tour, it would be understandable if Grohl was dragging a little, but his energy never flagged. 

Yes, the Foos played “The Pretender,” but the Chrissie Hynde-led The Pretenders opened up the second night and it was a fierce 14-song, hour-long set that didn’t let up from the minute Hynde and Company stepped on stage. Hynde’s vibrato remains gloriously intact, especially on such songs as “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and “I’ll Stand By You,” as does her tough affect—though that was tempered by her wide-open grin as the set progressed. Special mention to lead guitarist James Walbourne, who dazzled throughout with his muscular guitar work.