FF=Energy And Enthusiasm

FF= Energy and Enthusiasm

Justin Roethlingshoefer

As the acoustic guitar rang through the dark stadium and the crowd roared with anticipation, you could tell this was about to be something special.  The spotlight slowly illuminated a silhouette of Dave Grohl, the bands lead singer, and that was the last time you saw him standing still.  As he let out a long and loud “HHHHEEEEEYYYY!”, it was answered with just as much energy by the crowd; and then the real fun began!

Aspiring rockers — and veterans, too — should attend a Foo Fighters concert and take notes. After watching the band play Monday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio, I decided that's how you play a rock concert.

The show was aggressive and loud and one of the best rock concerts I've seen in a long time. Led by frontman Dave Grohl, the band played a variety of songs, including old hits and new material, and was full of energy.  It's possible they were just feeding off of the crowd. With all but a few seats filled, the 20,000-capacity arena appeared to be sold out.  Despite the show's long running time — a 29-song set that lasted 3 hours — the fans stayed energized the whole time.  It was not hard as the fans were able to feed of the lead singer and drummers energy.  Not 20 minutes into the concert Grohls shirt was dripping in sweat and Taylor Hawkins had shed his shirt.  They got after it like a group of 14 year olds still trying to pursue a dream in their basement. 

The concert featured nearly every song from the band's latest album, “Wasting Light,” which is harder and heavier than previous releases from the band. Those songs set the tone for the rest of the show and even more modest tunes by the band, such as “Learn To Fly,” were played with aggression. The old Nirvana style was definitely present in their display of modern rockers but it was a sound that the crowd was more than pleased to hear.  They also incorporated loud, metal-inspired jams, a drum solo and a few guitar battles between Grohl and guitarist Chris Shiflett.  The most impressive thing about them is that in a time that is dominated by R and B, dance, and rap music, the Foo Fighters have been able to keep their rock band style and keep it popular. I was most impressed by the number of hits that the band has. Foo Fighters are one of those bands that you don't realize how popular (and talented) they are until you hear all of their big songs back to back.

One of the greatest moments in the set came near the end of the concert and into the nine-song encore.

With about 2 songs left Grohl had all the lights shut off in the arena and he simply played his guitar for about 8 minutes as the fans pulled out lighters, cell phones, and anything that produced light while they screamed and shouted out lyrics of the chorus of songs that Grohl was bouncing between. 

The other moment started when Grohl came out for the encore. He ran through a door on the floor of the stadium and through all the fans, with just as much energy as he had when he started.  He then proceeded to jump onto a small stage in the middle of the sound desk on the floor seat area.  There was a guitar waiting for him and he played the last nine songs from that stage pulling up members of the audience to dance and pump up the crowed with him.  Armed with only an acoustic guitar, Grohl performed “Long Road To Ruin,” “Best of You” and “Times Like These” on his own before the rest of the band joined in to finish the show.

And Grohl dedicated the last song of the night, “Everlong,” to his fans for their energy.

“You guys are a lot of (expletive) fun. I'm glad we played here tonight,” he said. “This one goes out to you.”