Foo Fighters
October 10th, 2018
Pepsi Center – Denver, Colorado
Words by: Tyler Hypnarowski
Photos By: Bruce Moore
Way back in August of 1995, just six months after their first public show, Foo Fighters played to about a thousand people at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado. Much like the city, the band has gotten a lot bigger since then, but that little club on Colfax hasn’t been forgotten by Dave Grohl. The frontman proudly proclaimed to the 17,000+ in attendance Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, “This isn’t our first time in this city, you know. Nuh-uh”, before giving a shout out to the 101 year old theater. Over two decades may have past since then, but the 49 year old Grohl was as energized as ever as he led the band through a two and a half hour musical marathon that touched upon all nine of the group’s esteemed studio albums.
Starting off with their recent release and working their way backwards in time as the night went on, the show hit the ground running with two tracks off of their 2017 Concrete and Gold album, for which the tour was named for. “Run” gave way to “The Sky is a Neighborhood”, the former winning a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. It wouldn’t be long before drummer Taylor Hawkins got his chance to shine in the spotlight, taking a hearty drum solo on hydraulic-elevated riser ala Mötley Crüe before singing leads on the smooth sounding “Sunday Rain”. Prior to becoming a Foo Fighter in 1997, Hawkins was Alanis Morrisette’s drummer and over the years has proven he’s worth his weight in gold behind the kit. When your lead singer played drums for Nirvana, I suppose you better be pretty damn good.
After a few more post-2010 numbers, the show shifted towards the classics with Grohl and company delivering hit after hit beginning with “The Pretender”. From there things only got better as the crowd sang along to “Times Likes These” before guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett nearly brought the roof down during a blistering “All My Life.” Next up was two tracks from their seminal 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose, “Learn to Fly” and “Breakout”. Grohl wasn’t kidding with his claim earlier in the night that the show would be a “long ass ride”…
The Foos would keep the hits coming, but not before taking some time to introduce the band and play a few choice cover snippets in the process including “Another One Bites The Dust” and a mashup of John Lennon’s “Imagine” with Van Halen’s “Jump.” A somewhat subdued “My Hero” gave way to two of the band’s oldest tunes in “Monkey Wrench” and “This Is a Call”, again bringing the house to a frenzy similar to the one ignited by “All My Life” earlier in the show.
Part of the fun at a Foo Fighters concert is the banter between both the band itself as well as their fan interactions, and there was plenty of both in Denver. Grohl joked that while their show was long, they weren’t Leftover Salmon or (Widespread) Panic and wouldn’t be playing for six hours. “This isn’t Red Rocks, motherf——” he said, following that up with “We’ll come out and do some f—–g Leftover Salmon songs. I don’t know what they sound like, but I know that they’re great.” No doubt a nod to the Front Range’s high density of jam-band fans, the joke led into a powerful, extended, dare I even say jammy rendition of their power ballad “Best of You” that eclipsed over 10 minutes in length. Watch the entire song complete with banter here.
Over two hours later, the show concluded with an encore selection that saw new school meet old school. “Dirty Water”, the sweet, crescendoing track that’s arguably one of the strongest from Concrete and Gold, featured a trio of backup vocalists that added an especially nice touch. “Everlong”, the quintessential Foo song from 1997’s The Colour and the Shape gave fans the send off they wanted. Twenty-one years later and that song still hits like the first time.
It’s not easy for a rock band to pack an arena these days. Foo Fighters are one of the few who can not only do so, but are able to provide an intimate and authentic experience all at the same time. It was one of the area’s most anticipated shows of the year, one that saw the majority of tickets sell out over eight months ago, and it certainly delivered on the hype.
Special thank you to Bruce Moore for the photo contributions!
