Foo Fighters Take Over NYC!
By SethM
Take a cruise ship, park it on the West Side on NYC in the Hudson, turn it into the “Bud Light Hotel,” add a big tent and some of amazing rock acts, and you have one kickass party.
Add in one of the greatest bands to come on the scene in the last 20 years and you have the PARTY OF THE YEAR (so far, anyway, and this one is going to be damn hard to top).
I’m talking about the FOO FIGHTERS. Not everyone will agree with my naming them one of the greatest bands of the past two decades, but formed 20 years ago in Seattle, they are one of the few great rock bands that came out of the 90s and are already reaching rock icon prestige ~ and years from now, they will have achieved full legend status.
You may have been a huge Nirvana fan and thus feel like the Foo Fighters were born out of tragedy, but I believe Dave Grohl was destined to be a front man. Sure, he’s a great drummer and I also love Them Crooked Vultures, but if you’ve ever seen the Foos live, you know Dave’s a true front man.
Getting into the Bud Light Hotel was no easy task, with no media pass or pit access for shooting available (hence why the photos we’re sharing were taken on a cell phone ~ but the Foos on cell are better than no Foos at all!) ~ even my roster of trusty industry contacts couldn’t help me ~ so what choice did I have but to try to buy my way in. Although it proved to be difficult ~ people were asking up to $3000 for tickets…WHAT??? ~ I had luck on my side and I was able to find a “legitimate source” willing to sell me and my friend a pair of tickets for $250 total! We met outside the Bud Light Hotel and, as promised, we were on the guest list, someone slapped bracelets on us, and we were IN!
Opening for the Foos was none other than the Zac Brown Band, which was by no means a coincidence given Dave Grohl produced their 2013 EP and even played with them (drums) during the 2013 CMAs. I’m not a huge country fan but having seen the Zac Brown Band before I knew they’re no country band; they are just a badass rock band who happen to be from the country. Not only are they great original artists but during their Bud Light set they covered a partial version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” followed by The Charlie Daniels Band’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and rocked them both. Later in their set, they impressed even the most diehard metalheads by playing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and closed out their set with an incredible version of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of,” which even included the huge crowd joining in to sing “…fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!”
After the Zac Brown Band, any music fan could have gone home satisfied ~ but why on earth would anyone want to leave given that there were free Bud Light drinks, some food/snacks, and ~ most importantly BY FAR ~ the Foo Fighters were going on in an hour.
Anxious to see the Foos, an hour seemed like forever… but then once Dave and company hit the stage, although they played for over two hours, the time went by way too quickly.
With a mixed crowd of 1500 people there to see the band’s 3rd performance in the last year and a half, you would have never known they weren’t playing nightly. They came out full steam with “All My Life” ~ which sounded perfect as Taylor Hawkins pounded the drums ~ and the whole band were spot on transitioning right into “Times Like These.”
Playing all their hits and more, Grohl at one point exclaimed, “Years ago, I was in this band and while I was in this band I wrote a bunch of songs and made a bunch of recordings in my basement. Then I wasn’t in the band anymore, so I decided to do what I learned in Seattle. We started a band, bought a Dodge Van and played clubs. And that was 20 years ago.” He went on to introduce “Big Me” with, “I wrote this song as a joke, it’s not a joke anymore.”
This set ~ like any Foo Fighters set ~ was nonstop energy…21 songs worth! And if you’re a fan and this set doesn’t impress you, nothing in this life or the next ever will.
All My Life
Times Like These
Rope
The Pretender
My Hero
Learn to Fly
White Limo
Arlandria
Cold Day in the Sun
Big Me
Walk
These Days
Generator
Monkey Wrench
Hey, Johnny Park!
This Is a Call
In the Flesh (Pink Floyd cover)
Best of You
– Encore –
Dear Rosemary
Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
Everlong
Prior to “Everlong,” Grohl had said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d love to stay all night but I wanna fucking drink too” ~ but anyone who’d stuck around ‘til after 1:30am when the band finally left the stage knew they had been damn lucky to witness a full 2 hour long Foo Fighters set. You can check out Dave’s “proclamation,” and a few other clips I’ve posted, HERE.
Those who weren’t fans and were just there hanging out at another cool Superbowl party, well, I think they were converted…and for those like myself (and even Kevin Bacon, which means that yes, I was one degree from Kevin Bacon!) who were dying of anticipation before the Foos went on…I think I can speak for all by saying, “It’s times like these you learn to live again.”
The Seattle Seahawks may have kicked some Bronco ass on Superbowl Sunday, but the Foo Fighters have been kicking ass for 20 years and continue to do so… Be on the lookout for the new album and make sure you see them live the first chance you get.