Foo Fighters perform with special guests Cage the Elephant on October 14, 2011 at The Forum in California
It was night two of the double header Foo Fighter shows in Irvine, California. Supporting the band on tour were Mariachi el Bronx and Cage the Elephant.
It was close to 8:10 on October 14th, 2011 at The Forum, when Cage the Elephant took the stage. The band instantly started their set with singer Matt Shultz running around with his microphone stand and constantly head-banging. This lasted through the bands entire set. Shultz really took advantage of the huge stage by running side to side, and down the Foo Fighter cat walk that led out into the pit. “CA! It’s been a long time since we were here… we were here yesterday.” Shultz joked after a couple songs into their set.
Shultz informed the crowd that drummer Jared Champion’s has an appendix problem and he would not be able to continue through the set. The crowd cheered. No, not because they were happy that the drummer had an appendix problem, but because recent Facebook and Twitter updates by Foo Fighters read, “I can’t wait to see Cage’s replacement drummer tonight”. As Champion left the stage, lead singer of Foo Fighters, and ex Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl came out onto the stage while the crowd went crazy. Grohl and Shultz hugged and Shultz playfully blew kisses at Grohl as he took Champion’s spot on the drums.
The band continued where they left off, with a high energy performance, performing hits including, Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked, In One Ear and a ton of other songs that the crowd really seemed to enjoy.
It was 9:10 when the lights dimmed in the Forum and the crowd howled for Foo Fighters. The huge lighting structures that were above the stage slowly came down and stopped, covering the entire stage, hiding the band members. As the tune for “Bridge Burning” played, the crowd got anxious, not being able to see the members. As the songs tempo increased, the lights slowly lifted back up and Grohl burst out singing, the crowd overpowering his vocals.
Song after song after song, and hit after hit, Grohl never stopped head-banging and never stopped smiling into the sea of fans. The band performed hits including Rope, The Pretender, My Hero and Learn to Fly, all before they were even on their 6th song. Grohl constantly walked to all the possible sides of the stages, from the left side to the right, and even to the back of the stage; he even ran across the entire floor area, on his catwalk and ended up near the back of the entire floor area, making sure that everyone could see him up close and personal. As he ran across his catwalk, fans went crazy. He shook a fans hand and continued his guitar solo as his podium rose up, making him the center of attention in the middle of the venue.
After a good amount of songs, Grohl talked with the crowd. “This is usually the time of the show where I talk about the bands who are here with us!” He continued to talk about how Mariachi El Bronx are great, “Here’s an idea. Go out, and form a rock band. After you formed that rock band, stop playing rock music and start to play Maricahi. Now no one is going to do that. Do you know why? Because Maricahi el Bronx already did!” The crowd laughed and cheered for Mariachi El Bronx. “Also on tour with us, are Cage the Elephant. Those guys are just great. I had the most fun I’ve had in a long time, playing the drums with them tonight!” He proceeds in telling the crowd about the drummer and his appendix problem.
The band continued and played 17 songs including a Pink Floyd cover, In The Flesh. As the band left the stage, the crowd chanted for more songs.
The TV screens lit up. Grohl appeared on the screen, being recorded with a night vision camera. He held up his pointer finger, indicating one more song. He held his ear out to the crowd, wanting them to cheer. They did just that. Next, the screen showed Grohl holding up 2 fingers, mouthing “2 more songs?” Grohl mouthed “OK” and drummer Taylor Hawkins appeared in the screen. He held up 4 fingers and the crowd went insane. When Grohl finally agreed with doing 4 encores, Hawkins quickly went behind him and told the crowd 5 songs. Grohl tilted his head to the side, unhappy while Hawkins shouted “5, 5, 5” behind him. Grohl agreed to five and made a cutting motion on his neck, indicating no more songs. Every time Grohl agreed to perform a certain amount of songs, Hawkins went behind him and added 1 more. The band ended up performing 7 encore songs which included, Long Road to Ruin, and Best of You, both being acoustic, as well as Times Like These, Miss the Misery, Dear Rosemary, Everlong, and Breakdown, a cover of “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”.
After the 7 encore songs finished, the fans left the venue with enormous smiles on their faces. The band performed close to a 3 hour set, and who wouldn’t want to spend a Friday night with the Foo Fighters?
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
[youtube]D66YJm77dHY[/youtube] Monkey Wrench
