BANDS:
Foo Fighters
Serj Tankian
Against Me (skipped them)
LOCATION:
Madison Square Garden
PRICE:
$50-ish
CONCESSIONS:
Girls t-shirts were $30, guys' were $25. I thought about buying one, but was discouraged by more than a few people who passed by me mumbling "Ehh, I could get that for $10 cheaper off the website." I just checked, and this is true. However, shipping is $8.99 so it's actually about the same.
VIEW:
I was in section 207, which is on the middle-side of the arena. I could see fine except when the guy in front of me would sway back and forth or lean in to talk to his lady friend during the show. I don't know which would be more annoying- standing behind the person who constantly blocks my view because he can't shut up, or actually being subjected to his constant talking throughout the show.
Later the Foos played in the back of the arena, which allowed me to look right. I was on the aisle seat, so for this part of the night I could see everything fine.
PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Since I didn't care much to see Against Me based on what I've heard on the radio, I arrived during Serj Tankian's set. By the time I found my seat, the place was only about a quarter full and Serj was already playing, so I didn't get a good feel for what the crowd was like before the show.
Side story: While trying to snap a shot of the MSG marquee announcing the Foo Fighters show outside, I heard a guy shouting something about Howard Stern's bachelor party. It turns out he was a street teamer handing out free passes to Ricky's Cabaret, a strip club. Ricky's has been the new Stern Show headquarters since Lonnie left Scores to work for this venue. I asked him for two as a souvenir (because I am a superfan) and noticed he absolutely reeked of alcohol. I guess being drunk off his ass is what he needed get through a night of handing out fliers in the freezing cold. After he handed me two Sirius bumper stickers that he also happened to have on him, I went inside.
ATTENDANCE:
Completely sold out. Because the city of New York knows what's up and knows not to miss an excellent concert.
AUDIENCE:
As is typical with a Foos show, it was all ages. This time though, I felt like it was more my age group than any other. Dave himself remarked that he saw a lot of mustaches in the crowd, which indicated to him that these were fans who've been around the Foo concert block a few times over last 13 years.
WARDROBE/STAGE SET:
The boys were sporting their usual upscale dive bar wear. The stage was filled with lights and had a back wall made up of video screens. They also had a percussionist, pianist and violinist on stage with them.
ARI RATING (Adrenaline Rush Index):
9.5. Only because during the songs I wasn't as familiar with, I was spacing out a little bit. Otherwise, I reached the expected level of elation I usually do at their shows.
SETLIST:
copied from livemusicblog.com:
Let It Die
The Pretender
Times Like These
Breakout
Learn To Fly
Cheer Up Boys, Your Make Up Is Running
This Is A Call
Stacked Actors
Skin And Bones (Acoustic)
Marigold (Acoustic)
My Hero (Acoustic)
Cold Day In The Sun (Acoustic)
But, Honestly (Acoustic)
Everlong (Started acoustic, finished electric)
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
Big Me
Long Road To Ruin (feat. Josh Shields on drums)
Best Of You
HIGHLIGHTS:
SERJ'S SET:
-I was more impressed with Serj and his music than I thought I would be. Also, he seemed a more cheerful person than I remembered from seeing him with System of a Down in 1999 with Limp Bizkit on the Family Values Tour. Probably because they were being booed at that show.
-Right when he launched into a speech that began with "We live in a world of hypocrisy", his mic was cut. Thinking Serj was being censored, a crowd member yelled out "Fuck the system!" When Serj found a working mic, he said "No not fuck the system, fuck this mic!"
-He also told a cute story about his day in the city. "It's great when you go into a store and want to buy a musical instrument. Then when you ask 'When was this made?', you're answered with 'What fucking difference does it make when it was made? It fucking works doesn't it?' I got yelled at today! I LOVE NEW YORK!"
-I also quite liked his spiffy white top hat he wore, and smiled when he would groove along to his own music. He seemed to actually be having a good time instead of being the Angry Political Man I expected him to be.
FOO FIGHTERS:
-Dave is a monster. I truly believe he puts his heart and soul into every headbang and every scream.
-Pat Smear was also with them. He is just...saucy.
-The runway that sliced through the middle of the floor crowd. It really brought the entire arena into the action instead of just the front. I wish more acts would do that.
-The acoustic set, performed from the back of the arena. This also helped them to connect with the people in the cheap seats, not just those close enough to look up Shiflet's nose.
-When Dave allowed his percussionist Drew play a solo on the triangle, just for the novelty of a triangle performance taking place for a sold-out MSG crowd. I can only imagine that Drew is eternally grateful for this moment.
-"Skin and Bones." I love this song because it's so eerie and pretty. I wasn't sure if they would play it, so I was excited as soon as I heard the first notes of the song played.
-"Stacked Actors", because they always do something different with this song. It wasn't a single and they could always play one in place of this song (like "The One" for example), but they don't. This time during the song they had amazing solos from Dave, Shiflet and Taylor.
-"All My Life", because of its crazy energy when they play it live.
-"My Hero" was just overwhelmingly great. I was sort of disappointed when I realized they were going to play it acoustically, but once the chorus came and the entire building sang "There goes my hero...", I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and got goosebumps all over.
-Although I'm not a huge fan of the song, I liked how they slowed down "Big Me" into a sort of chill ballad, and sang it as a duet with their lady violinist.
LOWLIGHTS:
I really need to make the effort to see them from front row sometime. I was close enough I didn't feel alienated, but far enough that at times I was frustrated I wasn't down front.
Also, I had it in my head that MSG was strict about cameras, so I didn't bother to bring mine. When I got there, security said "Open your bag please" and before I even unzipped one zipper, he waved me to "Go ahead in." Of course if I had brought my camera, I probably would have gotten crap. Because that's how life works out. My pictures wouldn't have come out staggeringly amazing, but definitely better than the crap cell phone pics I took.
RECOMMEND- YES OR NO?
Of course. If you like getting your ass kicked by a great rock band.
POST SHOW BONUS:
The show aired on Fuse right after it ended. They only showed an hour's worth of the 2h 15m performance, but I'm glad they did so I can relive it whenever I feel like it.
CRAP CELL PHONE PHOTOS:
I was a bit closer than these photos suggest.
Acoustic part of the show:
My view for most of the show:
(Dave is the white blob- he was in the process of zooming down the runway):
