Foo Fighters
Toyota Pavilion, Concord
August 13, 2024
Photos by Raymond Ahner
When one thinks about the biggest rock bands in the world that are still putting out music, there are a few names that immediately come to mind: Metallica, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and, of course, Foo Fighters. Ever since Dave Grohl recorded the debut self-titled Foo Fighters album in 1994, the band has released not only classic songs that have become radio staples but also albums that stand as definitive artistic statements. And with the release of last year’s But Here We Are, their best album in years, Foo Fighters hit the road this summer in support of the record, making the Toyota Pavilion in Concord their one Northern California stop on the tour.
The six members of the band took the stage to rapturous applause. Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (guitar), Nate Mendel (bass), Josh Freese (drums), and Rami Jaffee (keyboards) all took their place onstage before Dave approached the microphone and asked the crowd, “Are you all ready to have your fucking asses kicked for three hours?” The crowd responded in the affirmative and Dave began playing the opening guitar riff of “All My Life” before the rest of the band launched into the song behind him. It was the perfect energetic opening to what would indeed be three hours of everyone in the audience getting our fucking asses kicked by the Foo Fighters.
The show that followed saw the band leaving almost no stone unturned from their thirty years of playing, with the first four songs of their setlist coming from four different albums. Despite material from every studio album of theirs being performed throughout the evening (with the exception of 2014’s Sonic Highways), there was never an instance where the transition from one song to the next felt jarring or inappropriate, whether that be following up “My Hero” with “The Sky Is A Neighborhood” or going from last year’s “Nothing At All” to 1994’s “This Is A Call” to 2021’s “Shame Shame.”
With Foo Fighters being in their third decade as a band, Dave Grohl and company have their live performances down to a science. A number of songs in the set featured extended jam sessions that felt simultaneous but were clearly meticulously rehearsed to the T, with band members coming in together at the drop of a hat. One of the highlights of the set was when Grohl introduced all of the band members, with each musician playing the beginning of a different song that would see the rest of the band join in. I’m a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails, so for the band to explode into the first verse of “March Of The Pigs” after Josh Freese was introduced brought a huge smile to my face.
If I have any complaints about the show, it would have been that I wish that the band had played more material from their most recent album. Written and recorded following the death of the band’s drummer Taylor Hawkins, a possible reason for the exclusion of most of the album’s songs could have to do with the subject matter of the material. I just personally wish that the band wouldn’t have waited until their show was over halfway done before playing anything from the album, with the song “Under You” being performed solo by Grohl on an acoustic guitar. I will say that the song truly felt beautiful being performed in a stripped-down fashion like that.
After dedicating the song “Aurora” to the memory of Taylor Hawkins (the song was his personal favorite Foo Fighters song), the band closed their main set with one of their biggest songs, 2005’s “Best Of You.” The climax of the song saw the audience passionately singing back every line that Grohl was shouting out onstage. After taking a short encore break, the band came back to play the penultimate song on But Here We Are, the ten-minute long “The Teacher.” Despite the fact that the band played through the various parts of the song with ease, it didn’t feel like a song that is appropriate being the first song of the encore. However, following that, the band closed out the show with their biggest song: “Everlong.” A song that awakens deep nostalgia in me, it was a perfect song to end the evening with, every member of the band wearing a massive grin seeing the audience come alive during the finale of the show.
The venues that Foo Fighters have been playing on the Everything Or Nothing At All Tour mostly have capacities upwards of 20,000. The Toyota Pavilion seats almost half of that, with just over 12,000 people at the sold out show. The band could have chosen any of the larger arenas or stadiums in the Bay Area, but instead they played to a smaller crowd of fans who I am sure were appreciative to see one of the biggest rock bands in the world in a more intimate environment. “It’s taken us thirty years to play Concord,” Dave said towards the end of the show. “To make it up to you, every year we’re going to play here. But don’t quote me on that.”
Opening the show was the grunge/riot grrrl band L7. Formed in the mid-1980s, the band played like a well-oiled machine that never let up over the forty minutes that they were onstage. A band that I’ve been wanting to see for years but have always missed for various reasons, even seeing them performing an extended opening set was well worth the wait, with the scathing “Shitlist” and fan favorite “Pretend We’re Dead” sticking out as the highlights of the set.
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