Live Report: Foo Fighters Triumph in the Rain in Dublin

Even as a huge fan of the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl, I wasn’t prepared for the seismic impact of this gig. The previous occasion I’d seen the band perform live - at Marlay Park way back in 2007 - they’d been decent, but decisively eclipsed by their co-headliners, Nine Inch Nails, making one of their extremely rare ventures to Ireland.

This, though, was an absolute tour de force trip through the high points of the Foos’ rich catalogue. The band’s years of touring have finessed their live show to virtual perfection, as evidenced by the scalding opening trio of ‘The Pretender’, ‘Run’ and ‘Learn To Fly’ - all tailor (Hawkins) made for fists-in-the-air singalong fun.

Grohl, of course, is one of the most charismatic rock stars of his generation. A natural comic, he effortlessly builds a rapport with the crowd, and spends the evening bouncing up and down, reeling around the stage, running to the wings and screaming innumerable variations on “Are you motherfuckers ready to rock?!” (we are).

After Hawkins - who’s wearing a shirt with U2 on the front and Thin Lizzy on the back - gives a shout-out to Larry Mullen, the band kick into an unexpected highlight, the slowburning epic ‘Sunday Rain’. Similarly powerful is ‘My Hero’, dedicated to Irish physiotherapist, Freddie Murray, who nursed Grohl back to health following the singer’s leg break a few years back (the beaming medic, stationed side-stage, is duly featured on the big screens throughout the song).

The memorable moments keep coming. A medley of Thin Lizzy hits ends with a full run-through of ‘Jailbreak’, before Hawkins’ call-and-response Freddie Mercury tribute leads into a soaring ‘Under Pressure’, with the drummer’s friend Jon Davison handling the David Bowie parts. Though there is a comedic undercurrent - Hawkins in green, white and gold shorts doing Mercury-style struts is some sight - this is truly stirring stuff.

We then come to one of greatest gig moments of 2019: the slowed down versions of ‘Wheels’ and ‘Big Me’, with the stadium lit up by phones as the crowd sing along and the rain sweeps over south Dublin. The Foos then unleash another secret weapon: the stunning, shoegaze-y anthem ‘Hey, Johnny Park!’ from 1997’s The Colour And The Shape.

Like all great rock shows, you marvel that the band are going to do it all again a couple of nights later. Most definitely this was a gig of the year contender, all the more powerful for being so unexpected. In sporting parlance, this was Pep-era Barca: a top class outfit spreading their wings, making a statement and blowing away the competition. Incredible.