Dave Grohl said he had lost count of the number of times Foo Fighters have toured Australia “10, 20, 100”. The answer is actually 13. Foo Fighters first toured Australia on the Summersault Festival in 1995. They were back in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 and for that one-off show in Geelong in 2022. The early tours were mainly club shows. The biggest they got in those first 10 years (outside festivals) was a Festival Hall show in Melbourne. The first arena show was in 2005 and for the past 10 years it has been stadiums.
The Foo Fighters audience is definitely aging. This was very much a 40-60s audience. They are the long-term fans who came in at the start and have never left.
Foo Fighters are playing their first Australian shows with new drummer Josh Freese and without longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. Taylor’s presence was strong. At one point Dave was recalling ‘Aurora’. He said the 1999 Foo Fighters song was Taylor’s favourite Foo track. He said he thinks of him “every time a bird flies by” and then, like right on queue, a flock of white seagulls flew over the stadium.
Josh comes with a resume that radiates with his stints in Nine Inch Nails, Devo, Guns N Roses, A Perfect Circle as well as his own band The Vandals. “Josh was in fucking Devo” Grohl announces before going into a medley of bands Josh played with. He is a great drummer and a great choice for Foo Fighters but he has a very different style to Taylor. Josh is old school, technical, more aligned to Keith Moon. Taylor was looser, more spontaneous. Josh compliments the band while Taylor laid out the groove for the band to follow. While Josh has a different style, he also has a structured style and for the rest of the band, that would make for a perfect transition.
What strikes you with Fooey’s is the impact the moment they start and that is why Josh is a great choice. They ignite with the first track ‘All My Life’ and the momentum does not stop.
The new songs have impact obviously because of the emotion and grieving from the lose of Taylor.
Rescued
It came in a flash
It came out of nowhere
It happened so fast
And then it was over
Under You
I woke up and walked a million miles today
I’ve been looking up and down for you
All this time, it still feels just like yesterday
That I walked a million miles with you
Nothing At All
I’ll get by with nothing at all
Fill my mind with nothing at all
Waste my time with nothing at all
It’s everything or nothing at all
And the epic ‘The Teacher’
You showed me how to breathe, never showed me how to say goodbye
You showed me how to be, never showed me how to say goodbye
Every page turns, it’s a lesson learned in time
You showed me how to breathe, never showed me how to say goodbye
This setlist covers the entire Foo Fighters era dating back to the first album in 1995 with ‘This Is The Call’.
Australia is close to Dave Grohl’s hearts. Back in the setlist is ‘The Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners’. In 2006, the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania collapsed trapping the miners. Days after the collapse, trapped miner Brant Webb was located and the rescue began. As the waited, he requested an iPod filled with Foo Fighters songs. When Dave Grohl heard the story he wrote the song and invited Webb to any show, anywhere and with two cold beers waiting for him. In October 2006 they met at the Sydney Opera House. Dave played him the song and told him it would be on the next Foo Fighters album. True to his word, it was on 2007’s ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace’.
The other Aussie connection was the cover of AC/DC’s ‘Big Balls’ but instead of Dave singing it, the band’s Australian drum tech Fiona Owens came on and sang the Aussie anthem.
Foo Fighters setlist, 4 December 2023, AMMI Park, Melbourne
All My Life (from One By One, 2002)
No Son of Mine (from Medicine at Midnight, 2021)
Rescued (from But Here We Are, 2023)
The Pretender (from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, 2007)
Walk (from Wasting Light, 2011)
Times Like These (from One By One, 2002)
Under You (from But Here We Are, 2023)
Stacked Actors (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
Breakout (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
Guitar Solo / Sabotage / Keyboard Solo / Blitzkrieg Bop / Whip It / March of the Pigs / Judith
My Hero (from The Colour and the Shape, 1997)
The Sky Is a Neighborhood (from Concrete and Gold, 2017)
Learn to Fly (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
Arlandria (from Wasting Light, 2011)
These Days (from Wasting Light, 2011)
Statues (from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, 2007)
Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners (from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, 2007)
Nothing at All (from But Here We Are, 2023)
Monkey Wrench (from The Colour and the Shape, 1997)
Aurora (from There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
This Is a Call (from Foo Fighters, 1995)
Big Balls (AC/DC cover)
Best of You (from In Your Honor, 2005)
Encore:
The Teacher (from But Here We Are, 2023)
Everlong (from The Colour and the Shape, 1997)
Remaining Foo Fighters shows:
6 December, Melbourne, AAMI Park
9 December, Sydney, Accor Stadium
12 December, Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium
Dave Grohl was 23 years old when he first toured Australia with Nirvana. That’s roughly the same ages of the four members of opening act Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers setlist, Melbourne, 4 December 2023
AHHHH! (from I Love You, 2023)
Miss Your Birthday (from Pretty Good for a Girl Band EP, 2022)
Desk Chair (single 2020)
Up To Summit (from Pretty Good for a Girl Band EP, 2022)
Bull Dragon (from Pretty Good for a Girl Band EP, 2022)
Lights Out (from I Love You, 2023)
I Love You (from I Love You, 2023)
I Like That You Like That (single, 2019)
Backseat Driver (from I Love You, 2023)
Your House My House (from I Love You, 2023)
I Don’t Want It (from I Love You, 2023)
See You in a Bit (I Still Care) (single, 2019)
Salt (from I Love You, 2023)
Treat Me Better (from I Love You, 2023)
Happier Than Ever (Billie Eilish cover)
Cayenne Pepper (from I Love You, 2023)
I Used to Be Fun (from I Love You, 2023)
Girl Sports (from Pretty Good for a Girl Band EP, 2022)
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett performed a solo show in Melbourne on 5 December and will perform solo in Sydney at the Great Club, Marrickville on 7 December.
Chris Shiflett, Melbourne Workers Club, 5 December 2023
Dead and Gone (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Weigh You Down (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Liar’s Word (from Hard Lessons, 2019)
Sticks & Stones (from West Coast Town, 2017)
Overboard (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Fell Into (from Jackson United, Western Ballads, 2004)
Room 102 (from West Coast Town, 2017)
Goodnight Little Rock (from West Coast Town, 2017)
I’m Still Drunk (from West Coast Town, 2017)
Long Long Year (single 2022)
Damage Control (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Welcome to Your First Heartache (from Hard Lessons, 2019)
I Don’t Trust My Memories Anymore (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
All the Way (from Jackson United, Western Ballads, 2004)
Carrie Midnight Texas Queen (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Black Top White Lines (from Lost At Sea, 2023)
Encore:
West Coast Town (from West Coast Town, 2017)
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