Tag Archives: Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl | Golden 1 Center | December 2 2017 | Paul Piazza

It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll … And I Like It | Foo Fighters, The Struts | Golden 1 Center, Sacramento | Saturday, December 2, 2017

It would be an understatement to say that the Foo Fighters’ recent show at Golden 1 Center was one of the best yet at the venue. Rather than bring in a plethora of special effects like many of the recent acts who have played in the arena, the Foo Fighters came to downtown Sacramento and kicked ass the old fashioned way, with a fairly stripped-down stage and a high-octane three-hour set filled with great rock ‘n’ roll songs that had the enthusiastic audience raging merrily along.

Frontman Dave Grohl remains one of the best at what he does, but the Foo imprint has gone beyond the live aspect. Grohl and his comrades have been an influential force on music in film as well. He directed the amazing documentary Sound City and the HBO mini-series Sonic Highways, which both gave historical and educational context to American music on a broad scale. The Foos even played “Everlong” as the farewell song on David Letterman’s final episode of The Late Show in 2015.

Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters

And if that all wasn’t enough, the band were recently featured on a PBS special where they played the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece. That is covering a lot of territory.

All of these opportunities might be attributed to the fact that the band discovered early on how to strike a songwriting balance between heavy and accessible and then take those songs to the masses with an energy that seems to have expanded with time.

Grohl, who turns 49 next month, intuitively understands how to tap into the collective Id of an audience with nonstop rock energy, engaging humorous banter and a true love for music. Onstage, his vitality is matched by that of drummer Taylor Hawkins, who is also an accomplished singer, pianist and guitarist. The pair seemed locked into each other for much of the night. When the band left the stage for Hawkins’ big drum solo on an elevated kit, Grohl stayed on the side of the stage and sat on amp case and watched.

Taylor Hawkins of The Foo Fighters

Later in the set, Grohl took over the drums as the band played Queen’s “Under Pressure” with Hawkins playing the part of David Bowie and Luke Spiller of The Struts, who opened the show, singing the Freddy Mercury part. It was pretty damn epic and illustrated a big part of what makes this band tick. They don’t take music lightly and they share that openly. They are fans themselves and when they play a cover, you are going to get the best possible version. They continued this later with excellent covers of Tom Petty’s “Breakdown” and AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock.”

Pat Smear of The Foo Fighters

The Struts opened the show and seemed to fit the bill perfectly on this night. The band, from Derby, Derbyshire, England play a brand of retro rock that hearkens back to the sounds of vintage Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones. Vocalist Spiller has the kind of rubbery facial expressions that warrant the sound, and also adorns himself in shimmering outfits that fit the bill. He is a true showman, with shifty moves galore. Guitarist Adam Slack is a bluesy shredder and the rhythm section of bassist Jed Elliot and drummer Gethin Davies are rock solid. Their set went over very well with the Golden 1 crowd who were eager for rock ‘n’ roll.

The Struts

Luke Spiller of The Struts

And honestly, that’s what it boiled down to on this night. In an era of performance with highly scripted choreography, sampled sounds and even hologram performers it’s getting harder and harder for fans to get a chance to see a band who simply step up and rock out in the big venues. Foo Fighters were up to that task and so much more. They remain one of the very few big acts who are keeping alive the tradition of putting on a true rock ‘n’ roll show.

Burning the Midnight Oil

Foo Fighters, Cage the Elephant, Mariachi El Bronx

Power Balance Pavilion – Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011

Twelve red semi trucks lined the northeast corner of the parking lot of Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 1, offering a glimpse at the amount of gear this monstrous rock tour, featuring one of the world’s biggest bands, had traveled with into town.

Upon walking into the arena just before the opening band started, one couldn’t help but notice a giant runway extending from the stage all the way to the back of the general admission floor area that created a rift between the crowd. And since this wasn’t a fashion show, it was apparent that someone would eventually rock the shit out of that runway and the mini-stage at the end of it. My money was on Dave Grohl. But first, Mariachi El Bronx took to the stage, all eight of them, and dazzled the crowd with their impressive and upbeat set. Mariachi El Bronx is the alter-ego of esteemed Southern California punk band The Bronx, and everything about them is authentic, from their instruments and their sound right down to their charro suits. They played to an ever-growing crowd, maybe two or three thousand (an usher informed Submerge he’d been told to expect 10,000-plus in attendance) scattered throughout the arena, most shoveling nachos or pounding over-priced beers.

Serving as main support to the Foo was Cage the Elephant, best known for radio hits like “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and “Shake Me Down.” Lead singer Matt Shultz convulsed around the stage, shaggy long hair in his face, very Kurt Cobain-esque. He even flung himself off the stage a couple times, clearing the barriers (a solid seven- or eight-foot gap) into the crowd, resulting in some of the most Jesus-like crowd surfing possible. Overall, Cage the Elephant’s set was heavier than one might expect having only been exposed to the band’s more radio-friendly vibe. Their heads were down the whole time as they charged through their surprisingly scream-y and edgy sounding set. Definitely a punk-rock-meets-grunge sort of vibe, and Sacramento was into it.

At 9:03 p.m. the lights dimmed again and Foo Fighters burst into “Bridge Burning” and then “Rope” back-to-back, the first two tracks off of the band’s seventh studio album, Wasting Light, released on April 12 of this year. What followed was an onslaught of songs (over two dozen total, including a five-song encore) delivered with gut-wrenching passion. “My Hero” was played early on in the nearly three-hour set and Foo Fighters’ charismatic frontman Dave Grohl ran up and down the rock runway for the first time, shredding on his guitar and screaming in the faces of fans. During the same song, he incited a massive sing along and slowed the song down, then moments later they finished it off heavy-as-hell again. They had the crowd in their hands, taking the place from rocking and chaotic to mellow and serene, to rocking again in a split second. “I just want to make sure you understand you’re not going home early,” Grohl told the now-entranced crowd. “Get comfortable, you’re gonna be here a long fucking time.” People went apeshit.

After ripping through another 10 or so songs, including crowd favorites “Breakout” and “Monkey Wrench,” as well as a guitar solo-off between Grohl and fellow guitarist Chris Shiflett (during the song “Stacked Actors”), where Grohl was standing on the mini-stage at the end of the runway that had now been lifted a good 15 feet off the ground, the two faced each other down from opposite ends of the arena. It was impressive and fun to watch, but it drew a four-minute song into what felt like half an hour. Drummer Taylor Hawkins also squeezed in an impressive but maybe excessive solo at the tail end of one of the songs. Submerge would have liked to have seen some of the filler cut and replaced with B-sides from old albums. But, it was an amazing performance nonetheless and it’s safe to say the audience got its money’s worth. Grohl even put a local touch on the massive show. “I dated a girl from Sacramento,” he announced at one point, speaking in reference to professional snowboarder Tina Basich, who is from here. The two dated years ago. He apologized for taking so long to make it back to Sacramento, “It’s been eight years?” he said. “I’m sorry. We’ve been practicing for tonight.”

During their encore, Grohl first appeared with just an acoustic guitar to play a song called “Wheels.” “It’s big in Germany,” Grohl exclaimed. “If you’re louder than the Germans…” he said as the crowd sweltered. “OK, we’ll play a bunch more songs.” Grohl played a couple more acoustic songs, “Best of You” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” “Times Like These” started out with just Grohl on stage, asking the crowd to sing along, but halfway through, the full band kicked in, bringing the energy in the building back up to a boiling point. After blazing through the track “Dear Rosemary” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Breakdown,” Foo Fighters closed the epic set with their smash hit “Everlong.” It was nearly midnight when the last note (more like feedback) rung out, well past most of the crowd’s bedtime, but you won’t find anyone complaining. Unless, that is, they have to wait another eight years to rock ‘til midnight with Foo.

On to the Next

Chris Shiflett puts his time off from Foo Fighters to Good Use

Over the past decade, the Foo Fighters have risen to become one of the most prominent bands in rock ‘n’ roll, and guitarist Chris Shiflett has been a big part of that. Becoming a full-fledged Foo right before the end of the last millennium, Shiflett already had quite a resume as guitarist for No Use for a Name and also a member of Fat Mike’s punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. In September 2008, Foo frontman Dave Grohl announced that his group would be taking an extended hiatus, a statement that has held true despite the release of a greatest hits comp at the end of 2009. The announcement didn’t seem to rattle Shiflett all that much. He just kept doing what he’s done the better part of his life: create music.

When Submerge spoke with Shiflett, he was just wrapping up recording for a new record he hopes to be finished tracking shortly. In the past, Shiflett has spent his time away from the Foo Fighters fronting another rock band called Jackson United, but the music he’s working on now will appear on a solo effort—well, sort of.

“I’m working on kind of a solo record, though it’s kind of silly to call it a solo record, because I’ve got a lot of other people playing on it,” Shiflett says. “It’s a solo record with a lot of my friends.”

Shiflett has no shortage of talented friends. One such friend is his old NUFAN cohort Tony Sly, with whom Shiflett will be touring the Western United States in February. Shiflett says that a show the two played together last year in Santa Barbara served as an impetus for the tour.

“We both have kids and wives, and we don’t really get to see each other so much anymore,” Shiflett says of reuniting with Sly on stage. “It was so much fun. We did a song together, and afterwards, we were hanging out, and we were like, ‘We should do a tour.’ So we started talking about it, and it just kind of came together. He’s actually got an album coming out in a week or so, I think. He’ll have product; I won’t.”

Shiflett may not have anything to hawk at his upcoming shows, but he will be trying out some of his new material. A departure from what his fans may expect, Shiflett’s solo record will feature “roots-y leanings.”

“It’s got more acoustic bass and keyboards and pedal steel and more instrumentation on it,” he explains. “It’s definitely not as rock ‘n’ roll as the Jackson United stuff, but it’s still me, and it’s still my songs, so I’m sure there’s a common thread there.”

It may sound like a serious downshift—both in sound and scope—from what Shiflett is used to, and it is. But it’s a challenge he seems pretty excited about. He says “it’s a trip” to go out on the road, on his own, to play a bunch of songs that many people may not have heard, but he acknowledges there’s also a certain amount of freedom involved as well.

“I like going out and doing the acoustic shows, because it’s so easy,” Shiflett says. “You just throw your acoustic guitar in your car, and there’s no corralling a bunch of people. It’s just fun. You kind of sink or swim on your own strengths and weaknesses. There’s nowhere to hide, which makes it pretty exciting to do that.”

In addition to playing new material, Shiflett says he will also throw some Jackson United songs and a few covers into the mix. And don’t be surprised if Shiflett and Sly play a song or two together.

How has it been playing music with Tony again? Do you revisit old stuff, or are you looking to do something new together?
It’s funny, because the song we ended up playing together, I just kind of surprised him. I said, “Hey, do you want to do that ‘Moonshiner’ song?” He used to bring an acoustic guitar on tour, so when we’d be on a long drive in a van, he’d play guitar and sing songs. It was a song that he used to sing. It’s an Uncle Tupelo version of some old standard. So I was like, “Do you want to sing that song with me?” and he came up and did it, so that took me right back to being in a van in the middle of nowhere with those guys. Me and Tony have known each other for a long time now, and he’s one of those guys that even if I don’t see him for a couple years, it just takes a few minutes”¦

You’re like fast friends all over again”¦
Yeah, he’s just a good, old friend of mine. We have a lot of love for each other.

Will he make a guest appearance on your own album?
You know that’s not a bad idea [laughs]. We haven’t talked about it, but maybe I’ll corral him into the studio when I have him down here.

You’ve played in bands like No Use for a Name and Foo Fighters, which are both on the louder side of rock music. Is the stuff you’re doing now something you’ve always had a penchant for?
Without a doubt. Of course I love loud rock ‘n’ roll music. That will always be my first love, but ever since I was a little kid, I was listening to Elvis and Johnny Cash and a little later on, I dug back into that older stuff—Willie Nelson and things like that. It’s always something I’ve been into and have had an appreciation for. It’s nice to take a break from screaming loud music and do something a little mellower. That’s the fun thing about doing these acoustic shows. I do some of the Jackson United songs, and they’re sort of a little closer to the way they sounded when I made them up in my bedroom, just sitting there strumming on an acoustic guitar.

Before you said you enjoyed just hopping in the car with your guitar and just going to a gig. Spending about 10 years with the Foo Fighters, and they’re a huge rock band, I’m sure that’s a lot of people and a lot of equipment. Is it refreshing for you to get on the road and do your own thing and not have to worry about all that?
Yeah, it’s just an easy thing. You just jump in your car, and it’s like a road trip with a couple of your friends. Touring with a band is great. Especially with the Foo Fighters, I’m not the one corralling people. We’ve got a guy that we pay to do that.

[Laughs] A corraller?
Yeah, we have a professional corraller [laughs]. It’s not very labor intensive for me, personally, but it’s still like a 50-person, 50-headed monster sort of thing. There is a kind of solitude in just getting out in your car and driving. The first show is in Seattle, so I’ll be driving all the way up to Seattle and then just heading down the coast. It’ll be nice. I’d like to say it’s a return to what it was like when I was younger, but I never really did this when I was younger. When I was driving to a gig in the car, that was like in the ’80s or early ’90s, and it was louder then.

Has this stripped down approach played into going into a more roots-y feel with your music?
Without a doubt. And that’s one of the things that I’ve really tried to do with this record that I’m recording—keep it sparse. When you’re doing a rock record, there’s a lot of doubling of everything, and all of a sudden, you’ve got 18 guitar tracks, and it’s become this unruly beast. I’ve really been trying to pare it down. Playing acoustic, it really makes you commit to parts. You really have to keep it simple—or at least I have to keep it simple, because I can’t go up there and play something really complicated and sing. It boils it down to the root of what the song is. I think it’s good for your songwriting.

Before you said that when you took the songs into the studio, they began changing. How did they change, keeping in mind that you said you were trying to keep them simple? Was there a conflict between the songs growing and your intent to keep them low-key?
For me, until I go in and actually record a song, I don’t commit to things until then. I don’t really work out the vocal melody exactly the way I want it to be until I get into the studio, and then you can’t hide from it. You can sort of hide live, you can fake it a little bit live, but when you get into the studio, you can’t fake it any more. That’s when you have to start making decisions.

You’ve been busy since the Foo Fighters went on hiatus. When the hiatus was announced, was that a welcome thing for you?
For sure. I think everyone was ready to take a break. We’d been pretty strong for a few years in a row without any real time off between records and tours and stuff. I didn’t think—I don’t know if anyone really thought—I sort of didn’t really believe that we’d take a hiatus. We sort of said that before, and then a couple months goes by and things start popping up, but we really have. Right now, there’s no real plan for anything, and I can’t imagine that we’re even going to start working on a new record until later into the year, because Dave’s doing the [Them Crooked] Vultures, and they’re going to be going for a while. It’s going to turn into a big, long break. “¦ It’s always good when we go out and do other things, that way when we go back to doing Foo Fighters, it’s fresh and everyone’s excited to do it. We’ve all got kids and stuff now, and I know for me, this last year being home has been unbelievable—just to be home with my kids. That’s one of the biggest upsides of doing what I do for a living. I don’t have to go to an office every day; I get to watch my kids grow up a lot. It’s been good. It’s been a healthy thing.

Chris Shiflett interview

Chris Shiflett and Tony Sly will play The Boardwalk in Orangevale on Feb. 9.

One More Time With Feeling

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Go into the Vault on Their Latest Release

During the 2004 presidential election cycle, Fat Wreck Chords head/NOFX frontman Fat Mike transformed from party punk icon to counter culture luminary. Rarely interviewed in years prior, Mike was almost ubiquitous in print and on television, firing shots at the Bush administration and trying to rally young Americans—especially punk fans—to vote. Though the result of that election may not have been what Fat Mike and his legion of punk voters would have wanted, his efforts did at the very least get a portion of the population that is often seen but rarely heard a voice in the political process.

Fast forward four years later, and the U.S. is once again gearing up for another presidential quagmire. However, this time around, Fat Mike’s voice, at least publicly, is notably absent. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept himself busy. On July 8, Fat Mike and his cohorts in Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (who also include Joey Cape and Dave Raun of Lagwagon, Jake Jackson (aka Chris Shiflett) of the Foo Fighters and Spike Slawson of the Swingin’ Utters) released their seventh full-length album Have Another Ball. Comprised of material from the original Me First recording sessions, the album sees the band covering hits by Simon and Garfunkel, Barry Manilow and Billy Joel. From his car—while fiddling with his new Bluetooth headset—Fat Mike answered a few of our questions regarding the new album.

Where are you headed?
I’m just getting out of NOFX practice.

How did that go?
Pretty good, thanks. We’re demoing right now.

I was reading up on Have Another Ball, and I saw that this is older material from the first recording session. What made you release it now? Why hold on to it for so long?
Well, a lot of it has been on 7 inches. We didn’t use all the B-sides for our seven-inches, we just used these songs because these were the first ones we recorded. And I don’t know, we’ve always tried to recapture that sound of the first record, because it sounds so cool and bad. We thought it’d be cool to release it now, because it has that sound from 10 years ago that you can’t really recreate right now. Plus, I think a lot of the songs are better than the first album.

You cover one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs on there, “The Boxer.” What kept these songs off the original record?
We did two songs by every artist. But that’s the thing; we picked the songs we liked the best at the time, but looking back, “I Am a Rock” is not as good as “The Boxer.” And “You’ve Got a Friend” isn’t as good as “Fire and Rain.” A lot of the songs were better on the seven inches, and we felt they should be put out digitally at some point. Unless you’re a seven-inch collector, most people haven’t heard these songs before.

This is the 10-year anniversary of the band—actually 11 now—did you ever think it would last this long?
Actually, we thought we’d be in this band forever, but when we first started, we weren’t even putting out CDs. We were just putting out 7-inches. The whole idea to be in a local band where we could play bars nearby and not have to tour and not have to worry about being good, or writing songs, because, you know, we don’t do any of that. Since we play covers, we don’t have to spend a lot of time with this band. That’s what we were looking for. This is just a band where you can hang out with your bros. So we accomplished that, but then we started putting out some CDs, and it turned out to be pretty big. We thought we’d be doing this band, and we still think we’ll be doing this band for another 10 or 20 years, long after our other bands call it quits. There’s no reason to not play in a cover band. It’s something you can do for your whole life.

I know people who are in bands, and they usually look down on cover bands because they’re not playing their own music. What’s your take on cover bands?
I don’t like cover bands. There are a couple of tribute bands that I’ve seen that I’ve liked. Yeah, cover bands are a bunch of fucking piss heads. They don’t enjoy what they’re doing, because most cover bands have their weekly gigs, or they play every night in Vegas, or whatever. I once saw a Sex Pistols tribute band that was pretty fucking good. They were called the Scottish Sex Pistols. They were way better than the Sex Pistols.

I saw a Sex Pistols tribute band dressed in drag called the Trans Sex Pistols; they played Sex Pistols songs while dressed in drag, and they were better than the original also.
Oh yeah. The Sex Pistols are terrible. The way Johnny Rotten sings now is fucking horrible. They would be fired if they were hired as a Sex Pistols cover band.

You said earlier that you all were hoping to do this after your other bands were retired. Do you ever envision Me First and the Gimme Gimmes getting a regular gig down in Vegas?
Sure, why not? Actually, if they open CBGBs down in Vegas like they said they were going to, we would have to be the house band.

How do you approach playing these covers as opposed to when you’re playing your own material? Are these songs you really like?
These are songs we really like, but it’s a weird thing. You don’t really get the same satisfaction by playing cover songs, that’s for sure. It’s fun to do. It’s another reason to go out and get wasted.

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