I remember as if it was just yesterday when I became a lifelong fan of the Foo Fighters. It was 1997 in southeastern Wisconsin, when I first heard the album The Colour and The Shape. I was 11 and my older brother and I were playing Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation in my parent’s basement when he put on “Monkey Wrench.” Being so young, I wasn’t used to hearing rock music in the way this band performed it. I was brought up listening to music such as jazz and vocal artists like The Temptations. As the CD progressed and I listened to more and more of the album that day, I couldn’t get enough of the electrifying guitar riffs, amazing vocal quality and overall feeling it gave me. It put a smile on my face as we played the album on repeat for several hours. Thanks to my brother Justin, the Foo Fighters became one of my influences still to this day, as a musician of original music. As years and years went by, I never got the chance to see the Foo Fighters perform in person. As my closest friends have told me that have seen them before, seeing them perform is an experience like no other and they were exactly right. Last night at Great American Ballpark, I got to witness the Foo Fighters for the first time, and it was truly an experience I will never forget.
Setting the tone for the evening was a celebration of rock in all its glory with opening acts Mammoth WVH and The Pretenders. Mammoth WVH took the stage first, with lead singer Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen, tap soloing along on his guitar throughout the first song. His dynamic vocal range and playability got the crowd roaring with excitement. The bands bass player was very animated on stage, as well as the rest of the band throughout their set, showcasing excellent crowd interaction. One of their songs named “Distance”was played with high emotion and gave me goosebumps. You could tell it meant a lot to Wolfgang in the way he sang every lyric with precision.
After a short break, The Pretenders came out with a dose of punk-infused rock to the stage. Lead singer Chrissie Hynde got the crowd going with her distinctive voice. She made it very clear to the crowd that she has a special connection with the state of Ohio, as they performed “My City Was Gone.” You could tell just by how the band interacted with one another, how close nit they are. As their set ended, they performed a beautiful rendition of “I’ll Stand by You,” which the whole ballpark sang along to. They ended the set with a song that gave the chance for Hynde to showcase her harmonica playing skills, which amped up the crowd for what was to come.
After a half hour in the hot sun, it was time to see Foo Fighters in action. With a packed stadium and thousands of roaring fans, the band came out in excellent fashion, performing “All My Life” as their first song. The band looked in sync with one another, with lead singer David Grohl plucking away on a beautiful blue guitar. As each song progressed, strobes of light flashed all around the stage. Grohl asked the crowd several times if we liked rock and roll music. As the audience screamed “YES,” the band started to play “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Grohl said this concert would be a special one to see because they will be playing play a ton of Foo Fighters songs off their old catalog of music.
As the concert went on, they performed such songs as “Times Like These,” “Generator,” and “My Hero.” At one point, Grohl gave a special introduction to each band member. As each band member was introduced, they performed a solo or a special rendition of a particular song. Grohl’s boundless energy and genuine connection with the audience were highlights, as he joked and led sing-alongs that turned the ballpark into a sea of voices. Grohl was then by himself with an acoustic guitar, microphone, and an accordion that was played by his keyboardist Rami Jaffee. The song was fun to listen to, as it provided a wide range of accordion solos and intense vocals. As the night went by, it got very emotional when Grohl introduced their new drummer Josh Freese, as their previous drummer, Taylor Hawkins, passed away in 2022. The crowd got quiet when the band then performed Hawkins favorite Foo Fighters song named “Aurora.” Grohl told the crowd that the song was dedicated to Hawkins, and he knew Hawkins was listening to the song at that moment.
To close out the night, Foo Fighters played their hit song “The Best of You” not missing a note. Slowly they walked off stage, as the crowd screamed and chanted for an encore. Three minutes later the band came back out and performed a song for Grohl’s mother, as Grohl performed it using a double neck Gibson guitar. “Everlong” was then performed as the official final song of the night, igniting an emotional and euphoric atmosphere as the crowd sang along to every word. The band's energy and heartfelt performance made this a concert that goes down as one of my favorites.
