Foo Fighters and Royal Blood Hold Massive Celebration at New York City’s Citi Field
"It was an excuse ... to keep on playing music."
That was Dave Grohl's way of saying "thank you" to the 40,000 rabid fans who packed New York City's Citi Field for the Foo Fighters' second night at the stadium (July 16). Over the course of two decades, Grohl's "excuse" to keep playing music has grown into one of the biggest bands in the world, and he has evolved into a sort of god whose every move is praised by fans and critics alike.
As King Grohl continues to heal from snapping his leg in half during a recent show in Sweden, he finds himself in a proper cast (with some metallic hardware holding him together), sitting atop a much-deserved throne. For any skeptics out there, after witnessing the Foos' nearly three-hour set last night, we feel confident in saying "don't worry": The chair hardly inhibits Grohl's tenacious live demeanor, and in fact, it might even amplify it.
From the second his screams -- "Are you ready? Are you f---ing ready?" -- filled the stadium (right around 8:33PM), Grohl and company held absolutely nothing back as they tore through a career-spanning set packed with covers, jovial (and sometimes lengthy) banter and a guest appearance by Bad Brains -- or as Grohl called that cameo, "the greatest f---ing moment of my entire f---ing life."
As the night neared its end, more of Grohl's onstage remarks rang true: "We're the Foo Fighters. We don't really do the encore s---. We just play and play and play and play." The show was capped with an unforgettable performance of "This Is a Call" -- the first song they ever played -- and an explosive jam centered around the obvious fan-favorite, "Best of You."
Setting the stage for the evening were Royal Blood, whose 45-minute set was the perfect -- and quite loud -- introduction for the Foos. The pair -- Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher -- managed to charge the entire stadium with their brand of heavy alternative rock, and likely earned a few thousand new fans who didn't know them before the gig. The fact that these chaps can create such an amazing amount of power between just the two of them, well, it's no surprise they've been on the road supporting the Foo Fighters; their passion and fervor are reminiscent of a certain rock and roll frontman we all know and love.
While we could go on and on and on about how great the show was -- is Grohl's knack for chit-chat rubbing off on us?! -- we'll leave you with this: Few bands can stand on a stage for three hours in front of 40,000 people and make it feel like a sweaty rock and roll club with just a few hundred of your closest friends ... but the Foo Fighters make it look easy as they keep doing it night after night, with or without shattered bones.
Foo Fighters -- Setlist, July 16, 2015
"Everlong"
"Monkey Wrench"
"Learn to Fly"
"Something From Nothing"
"The Pretender"
"Big Me"
"Congregation"
"Walk"
"Detroit Rock City" (Kiss cover)
"Jailbreak" (Thin Lizzy cover)
"School's Out" (Alice Cooper cover)
"Cold Day in the Sun" (Taylor Hawkins on vocals)
"My Hero" (Acoustic)
"Times Like These" (Acoustic)
"Under Pressure" (Queen and David Bowie cover, Hawkins on vocals)
"All My Life"
"These Days"
"Outside"
"Breakout"
"Dear Rosemary"
"Breakdown" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
"White Limo"
"Arlandria"
"How Low Can a Punk Get?" (Bad Brains cover with Bad Brains)
"The Regulator" (Bad Brains cover with Bad Brains)
"This Is a Call"
"Best of You"
Royal Blood -- Setlist, July 16, 2015
"Come On Over"
"You Can Be So Cruel"
"Figure It Out"
"Better Strangers"
"Little Monster"
"Blood Hands"
"One Trick Pony"
"Ten Tonne Skeleton"
"Loose Change"
"Out of the Black"