Author: Gerry Maravilla
At its pinnacle, the now aging Great Western Forum acted not only as the home of the Lakers, Kings and Clippers, but also as Los Angeles’ number one venue for rock’s most successful bands. On Wed., March 5, Dave Grohl made it clear that he and his Foo Fighters were fulfilling a life-long dream by playing a sold-out show at the Forum as part of their ongoing national arena tour for Echoes Silence, Patience and Grace.
As the Foo Fighters took the stage, they eased into their set with, “Let It Die” before sending the arena into a singing frenzy with their Grammy Award-winning hit, “The Pretender.” Grohl kept the audience alive and singing with each song, while also interjecting some of his patented charm in between songs.
“This is the concert where everyone who has to go to work tomorrow is fucked,” Grohl joked before blasting into “Stacked Actors” off of 2001’s There is Nothing Left to Lose. Well exceeding its normal three-minute runtime, Grohl and lead guitarist Chris Shiflett took some extra time for a guitar duel following an entertaining drum solo from Taylor Hawkins. When the show reached its halfway point, an entirely separate stage began to descend into the middle of the venue. The Foo Fighters walked across and began an entirely acoustic set.
Similar to their acoustic tour in 2006, the band played through acoustic originals and acoustic renditions of some of their hits. Grohl took the lowered volume of an acoustic, “My Hero” in order to get every audience member singing along.
The raw emotion and pure adrenaline found in both the Foo Fighters’ acoustic and rock catalogue carried into the audience. It became apparent that every part of the performance was for the spectator. The guitar duel gave Grohl an opportunity to run out into the audience and interact with the crowd; the drum solo gave Hawkins the opportunity to play off of the crowd’s energy. The descending acoustic stage changed the central focal point of the concert and brought the music closer to the fans stuck in the nosebleed seats.
While a large arena, expensive stage transformation, blaring guitar battles, five minute drum solos and an excess of budget hot dogs may make this performance seem as elaborate and ostentatious as any other big arena rock show, the performance from the Foo Fighters was anything but. Rather than coming across as gaudy rock superstars with accompanying super egos, the band appeared as they truly are: musicians living their dream and truly enjoying themselves.
Prices were kept on a modest budget as well. Tickets ranged from $25-$45 and t-shirts only $25.Triple-digit luxury box seats or outrageous $50 shirts were nowhere in sight.
The highlight of the evening came during the encore when Police drummer Stewart Copeland joined the band onstage. Hawkins took over vocals as he handed Copeland the drumsticks for an entertaining rendition of the Police hit “Next to You.” Hawkins introduced Copeland as one of his idols and major inspirations for his drumming.
As the band took a small break between songs, they each reminisced about the first time they had ever been to a concert at the Forum. While acts ranged from the Rolling Stones, to Rush, to White Snake, each proved to be a special memory to each of the band members. That night at the Forum, one could get the sense that the Foo Fighters hoped to create such a memory for the fans in the audience.
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