Review: Foo Fighters Show Why They're a Hall of Fame Act at Cincinnati Concert

“These summer tours are a crapshoot,” Dave Grohl told the sold-out crowd at Great American Ball Park as his band Foo Fighters teed up the show’s final song. “You never know what you’re going to get.” Despite the potential pitfalls, fans got a Springsteen-esque marathon of Foo Fighters tunes, and a few surprises, spanning the band’s nearly 30-year (!) career.

A sell-out crowd of 38,000 (Grohl’s announced figure, but seemingly accurate) flooded Great American Ball Park as one the world’s biggest rock bands brought more hits than the local baseball team had been able to manage this season.

The early start time, at first, seemed to suggest to the lay fan that Mr. Grohl wanted to wrap things up at a reasonable hour. Not uncommon. John Lydon (Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd.) told interviewers in the '80s that he liked being the middle act so he could head to the hotel after his band's set and watch a little TV before bed. Grohl had too much energy for that and was drenched in sweat by the third track.

Grohl, dubbed the nicest man in rock (and rightfully so), made all the fans feel welcome and encouraged crowd sing-a-longs, the best of which came during “Breakout,” when the band stopped playing completely so the audience could take lead vocals and sing a cappella. Grohl is, apparently, a sucker for this, and he’s not wrong for that. “My Hero,” later in the set, got a similar treatment.

This could have been done with any of the band's songs, of course, but Grohl and the lads were there to rock your face off, and they did. About halfway through the set, he introduced his mates via a medley of mini-covers that showcased each band member's chops. New drummer Josh Freese, for example, banged out a bit of “March of The Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails, a band he’s worked with extensively.

“I wish I would have written that song,” Grohl said, before adding, “Let’s do a song I did write,” which turned out to be the aforementioned “My Hero.”

A hard worker, Grohl let the rest of the band take a break mid-set, save for keyboard player Rami Jaffee (ex-Wallflowers). The two walked onto the ramp jutting out from center stage into the crowd, Grohl on guitar, Jaffee on accordion. Grohl asked the crowd about the last time they saw an accordion at a rock and roll show, to which I thought, “Last year at Crash Test Dummies, also off of the '90s.” And the other nicest guy in rock, Mr. “Weird Al” Yankovic. Grohl and Jaffee performed “Skin and Bones” after which Grohl did “Under You,” solo.

The back half of the set featured their first single, “This is a Call,” a crowd-pleaser, along with more fun surprises like a bit of The Beatles' “Blackbird” mixed into “Nothing at All” and another chance for Freese to drum up a storm (“Monkey Wrench”). The highlight was a moving tribute to former bandmate Taylor Hawkins in the form of the tune “Aurora,” the late drummer’s favorite Foo Fighters track.

To get the evening rolling, Grohl brought rock royalty in the form of Wolfgang Van Halen and his band Mammoth WVH, while The Pretenders, taking a break from their sold-out headlining tour, middled.

Both acts were met with a surprising amount of apathy, as fans preferred to jam the stadium concourses as opposed to listening to the openers. A shame, really, as “Wolfie” put on an enthusiastic five-song set, while The Pretenders, with Chrissy Hynde, in fine voice, smashed it as well.

Perhaps it was the early start time that undid them. The muddy sound system certainly didn’t help. Oddly, the Foo Fighters sound was amazing, especially when you consider baseball parks are not optimally designed for rock and roll acoustics. However, in such an environment where anything can happen, Foo Fighters showed, without a doubt, why they are a Hall of Fame act.


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