Foo Fighters
Opener: Frank Black (from the Pixies)
LOCATION:
Beacon Theatre, Broadway, NYC
PRICE:
About $59 before Ticketmaster charges
CONCESSIONS:
I bought this shirt at $25:
There were some others that were designed just for this acoustic tour, but I took to this one because I felt my predominantly black wardrobe could use a colorful boost. Also, I like it's random 70s feel. In fact, I like that vintage look so much that I may clean out their online inventory because that style is pretty prevalent among their collection in their online store. They sold a poster that I almost bought but couldn't because I didn't have enough cash on me. I wish I had paid attention to the details of the poster, because in searching their online store for that t-shirt graphic, I saw that all the posters are unique to each show, so that would have been a cool souvenir. They were sold for $25 and looked like this:
As far as parking rates go, this was another night of being financially raped by a NYC garage. Parking was $39. THIRTY-NINE MOTHERF'ING DOLLARS. The way I felt when I was told that price matched the pain I imagine Luca Brasi experienced when he had a knife jammed into his hand at the bar. (Godfather reference. If you didn't get that, then we need to talk.) Now look, I didn't have a choice. Don't sit there and think I'm a total novice Manhattan driver either; I scanned the area for street parking first. But I had a show to get to, so I just had to suck it up and pay their astronomical fee. Consider this warning my gift to you: when seeing a show at the Beacon, stay the hell away from the Beacon Garage on 75th and Broadway.
VIEW:
I had never been to the Beacon so I figured that since it was a typical theater, the floor slant would work to my advantage and I'd be able to see from the back. However, I had the misfortune of sitting behind someone with a big head, so my view of centerstage was blocked the entire show. Thanks to her, I had to crane my neck left and right all night and woke up with a sore neck. But I was so psyched just to be there, that Giganto Head didn't completely ruin the experience. As long as I could see Dave, I was cool.
PRE-SHOW VIBE:
I got there in the middle of Frank Black's set, so I had to find my seat in the dark. When I got to my row, a girl resembling Heather Matarazzo (lead in "Doll House") was in my seat. I looked at her ticket and told her she was actually in row Y, but she didn't seem to comprehend. I took the empty seat next to her and wondered if I could have been any clearer than "Your ticket says row Y. This is row V." I restrained myself from flinging her across the theater by her ponytail and relaxed to the chill music of Frank Black instead. After Frank, the pre-Foo music was Sun-era Johnny Cash.
ATTENDANCE:
Sold out and then some. People were spilling out the sides of the row, lining the walls and steps... just a giant blob of Foo-Lovers.
AUDIENCE:
Their demo is all over the place: old, young, parents, kids, trendy, indifferent. The only population not represented was probably those who would go apeshit for Paris Hilton's new CD.
WARDROBE/STAGE SET:
ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10= I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show
I sat in my chair but came out high off the energy of the show. I'm not even sure what to score this one and I am the one who made up this freaking rating system.
SETLIST:
Razor
Over and Out
On The Mend
Walking After You
Marigold
My Hero
Next Year
Another Round
See You
Floaty
Virginia Moon
Cold Day in the Sun
Skin and Bones
Miracle
February Stars
Times Like These
encores:
Friend of a Friend
Best of You
Everlong
HIGHLIGHTS:
The show started with Dave alone onstage singing "Razor." Just before the end where it builds up, the rest of the Foos and their additional orchestra (a percussionist, violinist/vocalist, Pat Smear and keyboardist) joined him and when their parts kicked in, Dave went into headbang mode. That set set the tone of "Yes this is acoustic, but we're going to rock the hell out of these songs anyway."
Any time Dave talks is a highlight. After the second song, he warned us that it was going to be a long night because they have a lot of hits and he has a "Blabbermouth...dot net" which made me laugh. If you are reading this and don't get that site reference, then I'll address that in our sitdown after I school you on "The Godfather."
Before he played it, Dave mentioned that "Skin and Bones" was not a song on any CD. When he realized that some crowd members knew of the song, he accused them of being "Internet nerds." Then continued the teasing with "Post whore geeks!", "Apple Fuckers!" and what seemed to be his favorite: "Mac Ticklers!"
Before "Friend of a Friend", Dave told a story about his pre-famous days in Tacoma, Washington. He likened the smell of Tacoma to boiling a pot of broccoli and then taking a dump on top of it. I can only hope for Tacoma residents everywhere that he's just exaggerating.
For one of his solo encores, Dave said "Do you mind if I scream my head off for a little bit?" and launched into "Best of You." It never occurred to me that he would play it since it's a pretty rocked out song, so this was a bonus for me. As soon as he shot out of the cannon with "I've got another confession to make...", chills ran up my spine. This song touches so many nerves with me that I don't even want to discuss it here, because it'll turn into a whiny LiveJournal entry in 2 sentences flat.
LOWLIGHTS:
In what was supposed to be a treat for us, their lady violinist sang "Floaty", a song I'm not familiar with. I wasn't into her voice, but I seemed to be in the minority, so what do I know. However she redeemed herself when she took over for Norah Jones in "Virginia Moon." Giganto Head was also a lowlight.
DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO-EXPLAIN):
Yes. Hello- Dave Grohl = Living Legend.
BONUS POST-SHOW EXCITEMENT:
Since this was a theater show in the city, the tour bus was parked right on the sidewalk so I knew I had a shot at meeting them. I waited through all the groupies and tagalongs, which included a very short Janeane Garafolo, until Taylor came out after about an hour (Chris, Nate and Pat didn't sign anything). Dave however kept us waiting another hour, finally appearing at 1am. But for me, this was worth the wait. Even though I had a super fast exchange with him, it really lifted my spirits because I've had a really weird month. You see? This is why I always put rock stars first: because they consistently bring me joy.
Anyway, here are their autographs:
