The Foo Fighters, one of the hardest working bands in rock, kicked off their Everything or Nothing at All Tour in Dallas, Texas and paid tribute to two of the city's fallen rockers: Taylor Hawkins and Dimebag Darrell.
Appearing in the spotlight at exactly 8 p.m., Dave Grohl warned the 20,000 enthusiastic fans at the Dos Equis Pavilion to prepare themselves for some epic rock.
“It’s gonna be a long night, motherfuckers,” the longhaired drummer turned guitarist predicted. And indeed, 23 songs followed in the 2 hour and 45 minute set.
Grohl and his band that includes fellow Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear and new drummer Josh Freese rocked through selections of nine of the groups 11 studio albums, focusing a bit on their latest, But Here We Are, which came out last summer.
Unlike many artists, the Foos only made fans suffer through a few of the new tunes, giving the people what they wanted, the hits they've been enjoying since Grohl started the outfit in the '90s after Nirvana ended.
Embedded content is no longer available.
One of the most endearing things about Grohl is he gives it his all from the beginning to the end of the show and on every song, new and old.
He screams, headbangs, and gyrates around with as much oomph on new tracks like "Rescued" as he does on an earlier single like "Monkey Wrench."
The prolific Virginian also loves to give love to the people who inspired him. After strumming the first chords of "My Hero" and dedicating it to "everybody," Grohl remembered he was in Dallas and honored the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott of Pantera.
Embedded content is no longer available.
Abbott, the lovable local guitar hero, was tragically murdered 20 years ago when a man rushed the stage during a show Dimebag was performing at in Ohio. Three others were also killed.
"Since we're in Dallas, I want to dedicate this to an old friend who lived around here," Grohl, who has seen more than his share of musical friends die young, said.
Near the end of the set the Foos played "Aurora" from 1999's There Is Nothing Left to Lose. Before playing that one, Grohl dedicated the tune to his former drummer and BFF who passed away a little over two years ago.
“We like to do this song every night because it was Taylor Hawkins' favorite Foo Fighters song,” Grohl said.
"You know, Taylor always loved coming here because Taylor was from here," he continued. "Every time the Foo Fighters played here in Dallas, he had his whole family come out and all his Texas relatives would come back stage. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a room full of Taylor Hawkins, but that's some good shit... So, this one’s for Taylor.”
Q: How long have the Foo Fighters rocked the outdoor Dallas stadium who tonight will host Neil Young & Crazy Horse?
A: Since 2000 when they opened there (along with Kool Keith) for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the Californication Tour.
Since then the venue has changed names multiple times, so if you are unaware of "The Dos Equis," it might be because you remember it from one of these incarnations:
Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheater (1988-1998)
Starplex Amphitheater (1998-2000)
Smirnoff Music Centre (2000-2008)
Superpages.com Center (2008-2011)
Gexa Energy Pavilion (2011-2016)
Starplex Pavilion (2017-2018)
Dos Equis Pavilion (2018-present)
Embedded content is no longer available.
The Foo Fighters play Jazz Fest tonight in New Orleans, Shaky Knees on Sunday in Georgia and a few more dates in the States before hopping the pond for a European leg beginning in the middle of June.
Many of these dates are already sold out so get your tickets from the Foo Fighters website while you can.
