Concert Review: The Foo Fighters with Royal Blood

Bands: Royal Blood and The Foo Fighters

Location: Citi Field in Corona, NY

Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Written By: Emily Racanelli

Throne of Heart and Habit: The Foo Fighters

         

“That’s one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people and they’ll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons.” This statement by Dave Grohl has never held more true than at a Foo Fighters concert. Crammed into Corona, NY’s Citi Field on a weeknight in July were 40,000+ people, all from completely different walks of life. You have your fare share of families, parents with young children who couldn’t get a babysitter, and kids wearing NY Mets jerseys just looking for something to do on a summer night. On the polar opposite side, there are the middle-aged women adorning black leather vests, eager to relive the part of their life that came before kids and 9 to 5 schedules. These older patrons use this night as a rare opportunity to show off that small tattoo on the back of their neck that they got at 18 when they felt rebellious. All in all, it is a chance for self expression: come as you are.

Most of the concerts I go to make me feel like a kid again, packed into a club with Xs on the back of my hands, bumping elbows with angsty teens coated in colorful hair. When it came to the Foo Fighters show however, I was left feeling as though I hit a mid-life crisis before I can even legally rent a car. With the exception of a few toddlers, I was the youngest person in the crowd, singing along to Queen and AC/DC covers with adults desperate to hold onto the music they grew up on.

As I took my seat on the field level, I gazed out to the general admission floor to see the rowdy 40 year olds head banging to the opening act, Royal Blood. (Now of course, head banging was more than I expected to see--wouldn’t want anyone to throw out a hip!) Hailing from the U.K., the duo consists of just bassist/singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. If you were to combine the classic and simple element of the White Stripes with the charisma and enthusiasm of Twenty One Pilots, you’d have Royal Blood. It’s a huge stage to fill with just two bodies, but they do it well and captivate the crowd for 40 minutes. The most intriguing element is the way Kerr is able to transform the bass into a lead instrument. Thanks to the assistance of a bass amp, guitar amp, and some foot pedals, Kerr gives the 4-string lownote-provider the punch and distortion of multiple electric guitars. If you didn’t know, you’d assume he was playing a guitar. To the majority of the crowd situated a lightyear away in the upper deck, it would take some serious convincing to prove that it is indeed a bass guitar doing the work of several leads and a rhythm. Tricks like this are what give hope to the future of rock music. You only have two guys in your band? Shell out the cash for a bunch of foot pedals and replicate a full ensemble; there’s always points awarded for creativity!

Creativity might be an understatement when it comes to Dave Grohl’s onstage setup. For anyone whose has been without internet/cable for the past few weeks, you might be unaware of a little accident that happened during a Foo Fighters concert in Sweden. Fear not! In the middle of the set, Grohl narrated and presented a slideshow detailing exactly what went down. Mid song and with guitar in hand, he ran over to the side of the stage and ended up falling off, shattering his leg. (The X-Ray verifies that the bone was actually split in two!) Instead of calling it quits and seeking medical attention like any normal person, Grohl quickly rejoined the band onstage. He continued to sing and play guitar while an EMT stabilized the leg and allowed the Foo Fighters to complete the set. Fast forward a bit and the North American tour is about to start. With limited mobility and a need to have the casted leg elevated, Grohl drew a picture of a massive contraption: a throne with the FF logo on the back and guitars sticking out the edges. Did I mention that it also moves around the stage? As if Grohl wasn’t already an idol in the classic rock scene, this persistence to keep the show going despite a massive injury definitely earned every ounce of respect I could give.

The Seattle quintent opened the near 3 hour set with “Everlong.” Despite being confined to a chair, Grohl was playing with enough energy to put any other guitarist to shame. He banged his head and flailed his one working leg while telling the crowd, “I’m going to give it to you harder in this chair than I ever did on my feet!” He most definitely lived up to that promise. A few songs in and you wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference; Broken leg or not, Grohl was going to give this crowd their money’s worth. The band played an array of songs from their 20+ year career, such as the late 90s hit “Monkey Wrench” and “Congregation” off their latest album [Sonic Highways, 2014]. In addition to a slew of originals, Grohl and co. also tossed in a few classic rock covers, declaring themselves the “highest paid cover band in rock and roll.” Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins--whose ability to weave in intricate fills during short timings is the essence of a perfect percussionist--teamed up vocally for Queen’s “Under Pressure” and then quickly transitioned to the high octane “Let There Be Rock” by AC/DC.

While rock prevailed, the softer side came out as well. Halfway through the set, Grohl--with the assistance of crutches--came on stage for an acoustic rendition of “My Hero.” Every time the chorus rang in, the lights came on as he waved his crutches into the air, encouraging to crowd to rally up a noise complaint. Part of me was left wondering if he was going to snap those crutches in half because he was so excited, while the other portion was thoroughly engrossed in the song that was my “calling” to be a musician. I may have stated before that classic rock shows make me feel young, but this was a true moment of nostalgia. Suddenly, I was transported back to my first drum lesson at 12 years old, mimicking the flams and fills played by Hawkins in the chorus. Wearing a PVRIS beanie and Taking Back Sunday tank top, I may have been a walking advertisement for punk and electro pop, but that moment was a reminder of the rock and roll roots that I came from.

As the moment passed and reminiscing drew to a close, the show did as well. The Foo Fighters closed with “Best of You,” interrupted halfway through by a guitar solo from Grohl, whose throne spun around the stage. Even though it was past curfew, the party was just getting started. Hawkins grabbed a mic and raced onto the catwalk to cover Faces’ “Stay With Me” for the encore while Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith appeared out of thin air to take his place.

Soon after, the lights went up as the crowd was zapped back into reality and rushed to catch their trains home. It may have been 11:30 on a weeknight, but nobody seemed to care that they would be semi-conscious sitting at their office desk in a few hours, air drumming to “The Pretender.” That’s the kind of thing I hope for in the years to come for myself and fellow teenage music fans. Growing up is inevitable; there will come a day when that lip ring has to come out, tattoos covered, and hair dyed back to that shade of brown you haven’t seen since you were 15. However, just because the outside changes doesn’t mean the inside needs to as well. Bands like the Foo Fighters will be around for years to come, allowing you to be that person who hides under a suit from Mondays through Fridays. So come as you are, as you were, and as you want you to be.