mercredi 18 Jui 2008, 17h47m
Sat 7 Jun – Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, The Futureheads, Supergrass
As always, I'm a week or two late with my review, but that's just the way things are just now!
First of all, I just have to say. WOW! This gig was absolutely amazing in every way. I'm not even sure where to start.
I missed the support bands (The Futureheads and Supergrass) deliberately, mainly because I just wasn't interested in either band at all. It was a huge let down after being spoilt rotten the last time I saw the Foo Fighters with Nine Inch Nails and Silversun Pickups supporting. The other reasons being the poor service at the Hard Rock Cafe beforehand and the enormous beer queue, which admittedly was very well organised and didn't take as long as it could have.
Support bands missed, straight in to the main event, who were anything but disappointing. It was my 3rd Foo Fighters gig, so I had a good idea of what to expect, but the stadium just made it. It's certainly a fantastic stadium (and should be for what it cost). A far cry from the SECC in Glasgow and Meadowbank stadium in Edinburgh.
Predictably, the night kicked off with The Pretender, a great number for kick starting the crowd, not that much encouragement was needed. It was initially weird seeing the action side on, seated, but I soon adjusted.
Dave Grohl commanded the stage in his usual way and regularly moved around so that everyone could get a good look at him. At points it was slightly irritating seeing him running down the runway, but with such a huge crowd, he has to please everyone. I've heard a few others mention this too, so I'm glad I wasn't alone. I soon got over this, I can't have any Dave hate, he is after all my childhood hero.
The gig progressed in a fairly typical manner. A greatest hits affair mainly, with the usual extended jams on the likes of Stacked Actors.
Again, predictably, the acoustic set in the middle also made an appearance, this time with a revolving stage. This was a nice touch, particularly, I imagine, for those who were seated behind the band the whole time. Unfortunately, it revolved to play 1 song to each side. My favourite acoustic song Marigold (being a Nirvana fan for some time) got played when the band were facing me, which was a bonus!
A major highlight in the set was My Hero. Singing along with 86,000 other people is just a totally breathtaking experience. Dave seemed to be taken aback by this too. This moment of course was eclipsed in the encore with the arrival of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame on stage. Now, I've never been a huge fan of the Zep, but I certainly appreciate their contribution to music and what they achieved and the crowd sensed that it was a pretty special moment. A moment that obviously meant a lot to Dave Grohl too.
The first of the Zep encores had Dave take to the drums and Taylor sing and my word, I never knew Taylor had such a good voice. His vocals fitted in perfectly I thought and seeing Dave Grohl on drums again is always a treat.
The final song of the night was Best of You and by this point I was desperate for the toilet and unfortunately missed the last half of the song, but while I was there, it was very special and you could see it became quite emotional for Dave towards the end.
The rise of the Foo Fighters is quite something. There are very few stadium bands these days and to fill one of the biggest stadiums, twice, is testament to how far they've come.
Part of me wishes Nirvana still existed, mainly because I never got to see them live, but without the loss of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl may not be the man he is today, he's certainly come a long way from the shy sole he was in Nirvana, but he's still my hero and the Foo Fighters are without a doubt, one of the best live bands out there. I only say one of because there are numerous bands that provide something different in a live experience. It is safe to conclude however, that this was the biggest (and probably best) gig I have ever been to and I'm glad I was there to witness what was, a very special gig.