Foo Fighters 2011

After being a Foo Fighters fan for a very long time, I finally saw them in concert on October 18, 2011! They played at the Viejas Arena at San Diego State University and it was awesome. I was lucky enough to be in the general admission section, so I got really close to the stage.

First, why don't these places walk around and sell beer? Just a question. I'm sure it's illegal or impractical in some way, shape or form, but it would make things a lot easier. Walking through a crowd to get beer is almost as bad as pushing your way back through them to your spot with a full beer in each hand. We can put a man on the moon, so why can’t we drop beer from the sky? Anyhow...

Before Foo Fighters, there was Nirvana. My first introduction to Dave Grohl was when he played drums for Kurt Cobain in the groundbreaking, founding grunge, rock band Nirvana. They were an epic band for a number of reasons, but one reason is their unique drums. Dave played a lot of interesting and tight rolls, using his toms and creating a very distinct sound. If you think I’m lying, listen to the drums in songs like In Bloom or On A Plain. He is a quick drummer and has great timing.

To date, I've never had someone very close to me die - for any reason. I cannot imagine how it would feel to have a very close friend or band mate die. It would affect me forever. Perhaps some of his inspiration, screaming and music is written with Kurt in mind. I wonder the same thing about Courtney Love and I feel that both of them have a free, lifetime bitch pass because of their turmoil.

One unique aspect of Dave Grohl's music is his trademark scream. He began screaming in the first song and kept it up until the end. Last night, I sang and screamed through the song Arlandria and my voice was a little sore today. A lesser screamer would have started screaming later when his voice was getting tired and raspy. Even though he screamed and yelled and constantly ran from one side of the stage to the next, he seemed to transcend it all. In other words, no matter how powerful the lyrics, he seemed to fully keep his composure, even with the new material that he hasn't sang 1,000 times. His demeanor led me to believe this isn’t the first time he has dealt with this sort of pain, but it was at least the second time.

I've been impressed with their latest album. Their songs differ from one to the next, they borrow a note from another key in several and play some cool, syncopated licks. In fact, some of their songs sound like they’re in an odd time signature, but they’re not and simply syncopated. The lyrics are cool and I can relate to a lot of them. However, some are a little vague and could apply anywhere.

I really like the new song Walk. I love the bridge and how Dave screams and builds it. In his own way, he describes the process - the emotion, passion and concern of starting over. "Learning to walk again, learning to talk again." He could have written and sang this song a number of ways, but I think it’s awesome how he does it because he first looks inward and then looks outward. It’s also a song that countless people (including amputees, handicapped and injured people) can relate to. It could also be seen as a metaphor for recovering and I imagine it could have a very personal meaning to a lot of people because of its ambiguity and applicability; which goes to show Dave and the Foo Fighter’s genius and mystique.

Some may say some of the Foo Fighters' songs could use more lead guitar. Some of their songs feel a bit chord heavy and I think Dave prefers to sing over chords and not notes (unlike Soundgarden, for instance) and the space could be filled with additional notes. Nonetheless, they have a large catalog of hits from over a decade of work and they create a variety of sounds and cover all the bases on their Wasting Light album.

This was their set list: Bridge Burning, Rope, The Pretender, My Hero, Learn to Fly, White Limo (is there a connection to Soundgarden’s Limo Wreck?), Arlandria, Breakout, Cold Day in the Sun, Stalked Actors, Walk, Monkey Wrench, I Should Have Known, These Days, This is a Call, In the Flesh? (Pink Floyd cover) and All My Life. After the encore, Dave Grohl brought an acoustic guitar down the ramp and played Best of You to the cheap seats. The band continued with Times Like These, Dear Rosemary, Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) and Everlong. I didn't hear one bad note all night long, too. Epic job guys. They didn’t play D.O.A., which is one of my favorites, but I’m hoping to catch them again and perhaps they’ll play it next time. I also think it would be awesome to hear the entire new album in order.

While the Foo Fighters were back stage during the encore, they played what was allegedly a live video of Dave and Nate in the parking lot. It was greenish, like an infrared camera. They did a little pandering and returned eventually. It was funny and the crowd was intrigued and wanted them back, so they returned and continued.

I felt a lot of things they did were way cool and not over the top. Some bands do silly things for attention or they have gimmicks. These guys are rock stars and they're obviously there to play. In fact, the last person I saw run around the stage like Dave Grohl did with his guitar singing was Axl Rose (without a guitar). He raced around the stage like a man possessed (in a good way, of course).

Another unique thing about Dave Grohl is his gum chewing. He always chews gum. Always. Earlier in the day, I was shopping and picked up some gum and I chewed it through the show. I like gum; not as much as Dave, though. I’ve also been chewing gum ever since and I’m chewing gum right now. My buddy Bobby had a bag of gum at his house and right after Halloween his wife Stacey gave me a bunch. Yum! Gum!

Nate Mendel played a sizable Gretsch drum set. He made good use of all of his toms and cymbals, too.  Nate is a key part of this band and it makes sense that Dave Grohl would pick an epic drummer because he is one. It would have been brutal for him to listen to weak drums, I'm sure. In fact, he probably wrote or collaborated on the drum parts.

Guitarist Pat Smear did a great job, but banged his guitar against his monitor during one song. He held the body and slammed it around the fret board and several strings broke. This led the band to an improvisational bridge while he fixed it. It was one of many bridges, although most of them were relatively simple and sweet.

At some points, the band would all play a single sound for an extend period of time, then jump into a song. This made it us wonder which song was next! They wasted no time in between songs and played their hits, new songs and covers back to back to back.

During the show Dave, mentioned how he was 42 years old. I thought that was unusual, especially because a lot of the crowd seemed younger and that information could be easily obtained on the internet.

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He doesn’t look 42, but he looks like he’s in his 20’s or 30’s. There was a good mixture of kids and old people. Curiously, Dave and company have garnered a cool fan base of kids of all ages.

The Foo Fighters went from playing Dear Rosemary (which has the awesome line “truth ain’t gonna change the way you lie”) to Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's Breakdown. The two songs are likely in the same key because the transition seemed seamless. Dave played the groovy intro hook and the band joined him.

I didn't see any effects pedals on the stage floor. This means they are likely controlled by a processor and a sound engineer on the sound board. This made it easy for the band to play all of the different effects without having to change them. Dave's wireless guitar system came in handy as he made great use of the ramp and stage. Having two other guitarists playing with him gave him the option of playing less, although it appeared that he played along with them virtually the entire time. However, if he were to miss a chord or something, it would likely be covered by the others and unnoticeable.

In the song Learn to Fly, Dave mentions how he wants to burn out bright. It could have been part of the inspiration for the Switchfoot song Burn Out Bright.  Courtney Love sings something similar when she says, "it’s better to burn out than fade away.”

During the show, I felt inclined to pour a little beer on the ground. I had thoughts of Kurt Cobain and I knew his spirit was there. RIP Kurt. I hope you hear the sphere.

I like the part in the song Bridge Burning where Grohl’s voice descends.  He sings, “it’s all coming down” and it emphasizes the word down. Later in the song, he sings an ascending melody. It’s a beautiful contrast.

Dave and his band used a number of guitars. Many of them looked like Fenders, but they didn’t say Fender. Perhaps they were custom made. I’m sure they weren’t cheap knockoffs. I’m also certain you could discover which types they use if you Google it. I also noticed them playing a couple of Gibsons throughout the show.

I was bummed that I missed Cage the Elephant perform. I should have left earlier and I could have seen more of their show. I had a little trouble finding parking. Part of the reason why is I usually just show up for the headlining band and I didn’t realize there would be so much traffic if I came earlier. Consequently, I was walking down the stairs when Cage was playing their last song. It was their new hit “Shake Me Down” and it sounded awesome. I love these kids and think they have huge potential.

The song “Shake Me Down” is cool and very different. It begins with a cool picking and sliding part that is easy to play, but sounds interesting. In the middle of the song, it totally changes and has a “Hey Jude” feel when vocalist Matt Shultz sings “even on a cloudy day” again and again. I have fond memories of trippin’ with my girlfriend Jenny in college and listening to Paul McCartney sing “Hey Jude”. It brought a goofy smile to my face and made me sway back and forth. We had to laugh at becoming excited and unified behind an ambiguous phrase!

While the Foo Fighters were playing, I wanted to hear more lead guitar. I wasn’t sure why I was a little unhappy with their melodies until later. I realized that I was actually a little jealous of Dave Grohl and his band. He’s quite a performer and musician with an amazing history and probably an amazing future as well. I’m also in a place where I think I might want that to be me one day.

I’m fascinated by the song titles. I think they contain a message. If they’re read in order, with a small amount of insertion, they read, “Our bridges are burning. Give me some rope. Dear Rosemary, I’m taking a white Limo to/from Arlandria. One of these days, back and forth. It’s a matter of time and I miss the misery, but I should have known. I’m walking.” I would have added Virginia, but the word Virginia is only found in the song Arlandria and it’s not the song title. However, Arlandria, Virginia is an actual city located near Washington, D.C. This song is particularly interesting to me because I went to graduate school for 15 months in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The lyrics to the song Dear Rosemary are fascinating. Since I’m the victim of a complicated lie, this song means something special to me. Although the song tells a story, it also feels like there are religious implications. The words Mary and rosary also come to mind.

Since Dave Grohl did a side project with famous bassist John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, I thought the Foo Fighters may do a Led Zeppelin cover or perhaps a bridge or chorus from one of their hits. However, he was not mentioned or acknowledged, but the intro to Bridge uses two of the three notes in the main hook of Zeppelin’s Bring It On Home.

Some of their songs included fanfare. They played extended intros and versions and the crowd seemed to recognize the songs and love them. In my opinion, that is how a great rock band plays a hit song in a new way. They play it so the song is both recognizable and unique and new all at the same time; which isn’t an easy task. For instance, sometimes they played an intro where you couldn't tell what the song was gonna be and it turned out to be a familiar hit!

While the Foo Fighters aren’t about one liners, they still have some very cool lines. Some of them have already been mentioned, but others include “You gotta promise not to stop when I say when, she sang” and “breathe out, so I can breathe you in.” Others include, “Fame, fame go away! Come again some other day!” and “Oh God you gotta make it stop!” The line “one of these days the bombs will drop and silence everything” is fascinating and prophetic. “Run and tell the angels everything’s all right” is another cool line.

Some of their new songs hit home. When I hear them, they resonate deep within me and I feel the pain because they ring true. It’s almost like Dave has been reading my mail. In this age of connectedness, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised when we hear songs and lyrics that ring true.

Something I asked myself before, during and after the show was, “What happened to this guy? What happened to Dave Grohl? I feel some of his songs a lot and they’ve helped me work through some things. They’ve even made me think about and feel some things I didn’t want to feel (although I needed to).

Not every word relates to me – not every single word – which would be really weird if it did, right? But even the words that describe an opposite feeling or emotion have helped me think maybe he’s right and I should feel that way. For instance, I forgive awfully quickly because I believe forgiveness equals freedom and I don’t want to carry bitterness around. However, when Dave says, “I cannot forgive you yet” he teaches me that even though I forgive, I should not forget or excuse offenses.

The last note of the album is A. I found this interesting because the last song is called Walk. It’s going back to the beginning, again.