On Stage: Foo Fighters at Ziggo Dome Amsterdam

It's been a few years since I saw Foo Fighters play live, especially in a venue. The last time they played a venue concert over here was in 2006 and only played a few times on festivals since then. Earlier this year their headline appearance got cancelled due to Dave Grohl’s unfortunate fall, breaking his leg. Needless to say I was really looking forward to their show at the Ziggo Dome.

Foo Fighters at Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, November 5 2015



We make sure that we arrive early at the venue to see Trombone Shorty aka Troy Andrews, who is the support act tonight. For some reason support acts always get bad sound and the mix is terrible for them tonight. The saxophones can hardly be heard and also the microphone of Andrews, sounds terrible. It's not his voice since he sounds great and his voice is powerful which reminds of Living Colour singer Corey Glover. The songs are swinging and rock hard, played with a lot of heart by the band, who do a good job warming up the crowd.



The Foo Fighters are off to a rough start tonight when the curtain with their logo that was hanging in front off the stage doesn't completely fall down at the beginning of ‘Everlong’ and is keeping Grohl and his throne obscured from most of us. While the rest of the band laugh their heads off, Grohl stops the song and jokes “Sometimes it's the fucked up things that make you remember a show for the rest of your life!". It's typical for Foo Fighters to fix setbacks when they happen and don't let it get them down. When Grohl breaks his leg? He asks his crew to build a throne and it turns into one of the eye catchers of the tour.



From then on the show takes off with high speed and hardly ever slows down. The setlist is a nice overview of their twenty year career and their biggest hits. Some oldies like ‘Breakout’ and an intimate version of ‘Big Me’ played by Grohl solo are treats for the fans of the first hour. Drummer Taylor Hawkins sometimes takes vocals as well, especially in the cover songs they play when the band is introduced and in Pink Floyd's 'In The Flesh'. He is also doing a small sing along with the crowd Freddy Mercury style. These small interruptions are not taking the tempo out of the show, but instead give it more dynamic, making the highs even higher.



And there are plenty of highs for the crowd to go crazy on. Small circle pits are forming and the atmosphere is a festive one with plenty of beer showers. This band knows how to energize the people like no one else can, by playing with so much heart, energy and pleasure that you simply cannot resist it. Grohl explains they never play encores since they don't want to waste any time. And so for the last time band and crowd give it all once more in ‘Best Of You’ for an explosive ending to an epic rock show.



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Setlist:
01. Everlong
02. Monkey Wrench
03. Learn to Fly
04. Something From Nothing
05. The Pretender
06. Big Me
07. Congregation
08. Walk
09. Eruption (Van Halen)/Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Van Halen)/ Tom Sawyer (Rush)/ Another One Bites The Dust (Queen)/ You Really Got Me (The Kinks)
10. Cold Day in the Sun
11. My Hero
12. Times Like These
13. Breakout
14. All My Life
15. These Days
16. Arlandria
17. White Limo
18. Skin and Bones
19. This Is a Call
20. In the Flesh?
21. Best of You