When I walked in to the worlds most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, promptly on time for the Foo Fighters’ big show I was surprised to see how empty the place was for the two supporting acts. I know concertgoers paid good money to see Dave Grohl and all his godliness, but the ticket also includes the lesser-known acts. Against Me!, a punk quartet from Florida, played a energetic half hour set consisting mostly of songs from their 2007 release New Wave. The foursome got the few hundred people present ready for what would be a great night of music. Next was leader singer of System of a Down, Serj Tankian. His solo album Elect the Dead was released last year and he stayed with the same formula that made System famous, heavy guitar and bass riffs mixed with his unique vocal style and ranting. He played an interesting 45-minute set sharing his views on politics and the state of America in between each song. After a quick set change, Madison Square Garden was ready to be rocked by the main act.
The opening notes to “Let It Die” rang out as Dave Grohl walked on stage with his light blue electric guitar. He surveyed the sold out crowd of 20,000 and smiled, knowing even after all the fame, success, and Grammys, he and his band were finally playing Madison Square Garden. The Foo Fighters opened their two hour set strong, including hit songs from all five studio albums. “The Pretender,” their Grammy winning song was played second with Grohl’s all too familiar screams in between each verse. The Foo Fighters went right into “Times Like These,” “Breakout,” and “Stacked Actors” bridging each song with guitar and drum solos and minimal talking. There was a runway going straight out that separated the people on the floor, Dave made great use of it, hovering over the thousands on the floor while the cameras flashed from all around.
After the initial burst of songs, The Foos decided to slow it down a bit walking to the runway to the other side of the arena where a small circular stage was set up. They played a stripped down acoustic version of some of their biggest hits including “My Hero,” “Everlong,” “Skin and Bones,” and “Marigold.” While hearing the songs with piano, organs, chimes, and violin were beautiful and in a way epic, I thought it went on a little long. Dave did a lot of talking about how he and his band were finally at the Garden and did time consuming introductions for each member onstage. Finally, they all ran the runway back to the main stage, and finished the night strongly. “Monkey Wrench” and the amazing “All My Life” sent the crowd into a frenzy leaving the crowd wanting more The Foo Fighters came back on to perform “Big Me” and “Long Road to Ruin,” before ending with the show stopping “Best of Me.”
The Foo Fighters are the biggest rock band in the world right now and they put on a hell of a show if you haven’t seen them before. If you have though, you’re not really in for a treat. The set list they played was almost identical to that which I saw two years ago with the exception of songs off of Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace. Also, from our seats, the sound drifted in and out and at times it was hard to hear both the vocals and music. The Foo Fighters have had an amazing career so far, I’m sure this won’t be their last time playing the Garden.
Grade: B+
Against Me! Setlist:
White People For Peace
New Wave
Don't Lose Touch
Stop
From Her Lips to God's Ears
Americans Abroad
Thrash Unreal
Ocean
Foo Fighters Setlist:
Let It Die
The Pretender
Times Like These
Breakout
Learn To Fly
Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running)
This is a Call
Stacked Actors
(moved to acoustic stage at center of floor)
Skin and Bones
Marigold
My Hero
Cold Day In The Sun
But, Honestly
Everlong
(back to main stage)
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
Encore:
Big Me
Long Road to Ruin
Best of Me
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