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


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On Stage: Editors at Heineken Music Hall Amsterdam

They could have easily filled up a bigger venue, but Editors chose to do three nights in a row at the Heineken Music Hall which can hold around 5,500 fans. Needless to say those nights sold out pretty quickly since with a new album the band is back in the spotlights again, as if they ever left. I think the previous album The Weight Of Your Love isn't a great album, definitely not their best and although In Dream is a lot better it still can't measure up to their first three longplayers. However watching them play live is always a treat so I made my way to the HMH at the other side of town.

Editors at Heineken Music Hall Amsterdam, November 4 2015



Of course I was really lucky to see the band play last month at the much smaller Paard van Troje venue in The Hague and there we got a little taste of what to expect. You know this band has no trouble playing a larger crowd that still is relatively small compared to the big festival crowds they are used to play by now. The HMH is actually a good place that can host bands that have outgrown the clubs, but at the same time is still small enough to give an intimate feeling.



It turns out the setlist tonight isn't much different from the one they played last month, except some songs have been shuffled around. That night already showed the group is well prepared for this tour and this is a very smooth running show, although Justin Lockey has been temporarily replaced with Nicholas Willes. Lockey is becoming a father and Willes already played with the band last year, still the band is in great shape. Their big hits are scattered around the set, with some slower songs in between them to create a dynamic show. Old songs 'All Sparks', 'Munich' and 'The Racing Rats' are always guaranteed crowd pleasers and since the last album 'Sugar' and 'Formaldehyde' are added to that. From the new album it seems 'Ocean of Night' and 'Marching Orders' go down well, although I think 'All The Kings' with its eighties synth hook, that also made it onto the setlist, is actually one of their better new songs. The acoustic solo performance of 'Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors' is a nice touch and a highlight of the show.



Fire and fireworks are the only real visual effects added to some of the songs. No big fancy screens and huge lighting shows did they bring with them. And who needs that when you have Tom Smith as your front man. Besides his amazing voice he's always so into the music, moving around stage in his awkward fashion. Sometimes he will walk to the front of the stage to bend over to the crowd, or he takes place behind his piano for the more intimate moments. Smith doesn't address the crowd a lot except for a quick thank you once and a while. It's clear there's not much room for spontaneity or improvisation. That's okay though because the band, who look like they are having a good time themselves, play a very tight well thought through show and give the people exactly what they came for. Instead of ending the show with the epic 'Papillon' the new song 'Marching Orders' is the set closer in the three song encore. I think 'Papillon' is a much better song, but it seems most fans have embraced the new song and this way it's a worthy end of the night.



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Setlist:
01. No Harm
02. Sugar
03. Life Is a Fear
04. Blood
05. An End Has a Start
06. Forgiveness
07. All Sparks
08. Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool
09. The Racing Rats
10. Formaldehyde
11. Salvation
12. Bones
13. A Ton of Love
14. Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors
15. Bricks and Mortar
16. All the Kings
17. Nothing
18. Munich
Encore:
19. Ocean of Night
20. Papillon
21. Marching Orders


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Spinning: The Icarus Line - All Things Under Heaven

Influences like Iggy & The Stooges and Birthday Party are pointed out in The Icarus Line's music regularly, so you can expect some aggression and intensity, but they never sounded so angry as on their new LP All Things Under Heaven. That is a plus for a band that have been around for more than fifteen years, because it often means the music has not faded and the band still has plenty to say.

The group is hitting hard on their eighth album and starts that right away in the first song 'Ride Or Die', that has an ominous beginning with a fade-in and a dark humming voice, eventually bursting into explosive drums, raging guitars and a screaming organ. "Jesus, save us" you will hear, but that's not going to happen, since The Icarus Line take you onto a diabolical tour through a dark world. Once again it reminds of Nick Cave like in 'El Sereno', where you'll hear harmonies singing "in the black water" and shrieking guitars that could easily have been produced by the Australian. On 'Bedham Blue' Warren Ellis even collaborated, indeed, Cave's loyal companion in The Bad Seeds and Grinderman.

All the anger comes together in the title track 'All Things Under Heaven', where artist Joe Coleman is playing a kind of devil's advocate in a monologue. Supported by a dramatic sounding organ and what seems a beeping alarm clock, he's addressing the state of the world and how mother nature regulates population by means of diseases and other misery. He ends his plea with "the serial killer, the taker of human life is the cure...you’re the problem!". Those are heavy words, but it's clear they make you think about it. In 'Millenial Prayer' a series of sentences follows that start with "thou shall" complementary to the Ten Commandments. The nervous sax you can hear stops all of a sudden and the song ends with "who the fuck do you think you are? some kind of exception to reality?". The words hit you like a sledge hammer and all you can do is humbly bow your head.

All Things Under Heaven is an impressive record where singer Joe Cardamone is dealing with the demons in his life in an aggressive way, by boldly sending an even more devilish monster on them. He's staring the demons right in the eyes, swears at them and spits them in their face. It makes you want to play the record over and over again, as if the beast is hypnotizing you and you're under his control. When the album ends with 'Sleep Now' it's not a lullaby but leads you into a dark nightmare. There simply is no escape.



This review has been published on Festivalinfo in Dutch over here.

Listen to 'All Things Under Heaven' on Spotify.



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