Foo Fighters @ Meadowbank Stadium, 21 Aug

Dave Grohl is the consummate stadium rock host

Article by Darren Carle | 08 Sep 2007

We're two songs into Nine Inch Nails' set when Trent Reznor and co. swap their laptops for guitars, letting the audience breathe a sigh of relief. From there on in it's rock all the way, with the band careering about the stage like men half their age. Putting the 'industrial' into stadium rock can't be easy, but here they succeed, whether on the blistering, no-holds-barred March of the Pigs, or the ominous, chilling The Wretched. However, at under an hour, it's just not long enough and when Reznor defiantly flips his guitar overhead, as the last chords of Wish blast out, he probably agrees.

By comparison, the Foo Fighters have time to kill. With extended audience call-and-responses, birthday platitudes and beer-chugging skits, Dave Grohl is the consummate stadium rock host. He even breaks into a Van Halen riff at one point, before checking himself. Fortunately, tonight's set is watertight; a veritable Foo's 'best of' where even former guitarist Pat Smear makes an 'uncredited', blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance. Stacked Actors and the inevitable encore, All My Life, are just two highlights, whilst a cover of Keep The Car Running is surprising, but deftly handled. For all their showboating, the Foo Fighters are still the real deal. [Darren Carle]

http://www.foofighters.com/ http://www.myspace.com/nin