Foo Fighters Bring Good Times and Rock and Roll to Austin City Limits (SHOW REVIEW)

“The reason why we played the first bunch of songs without stopping is because we got a hundred fuckin’ songs to play,” announced Dave Grohl after the Foo Fighters had made it about eight songs into what would end up being close to a three hour set. In only eight songs the band reminded the audience just how many hits they had as they transitioned seamlessly through “Aurora,” “Times Like These,” and “My Hero” among others. Of course, this was only the beginning of a long set filled with surprises.

Thursday’s show in Austin – rescheduled from November 7^th due to the birth of drummer Taylor Hawkins’ child – was significant because it will be air as the final episode of the 40^th season of Austin City Limits. By the standards of the Foo Fighters, who recently announced their most massive U.S. tour ever and will be playing stadiums this summer, the audience of no more than 2,700 people inside the Moody Theater was intimate to say the least. Place a stadium rock band in a small venue for a filmed performance and you get an explosive level of energy.

When you’re the biggest rock and in the world you can basically do whatever you want, and the Foo Fighters took full advantage of this without letting their egos get in the way. After all, the beauty of the Foo Fighters has always been their status as rock and roll anti-heroes, lovers of rock as opposed to rock “stars.” There is nothing lavish or excessive about members of the band, but rather a group of normal dudes who happen to make music for a living. Onstage in Austin Grohl’s head banging, non-stop smiling, and constant runs off the stage and into the crowd during the middle of a song made it clear he still takes almost childlike delight in the fact that this is his job. The band beamed like kids in a candy shop when they were joined by Austin’s blues-playing guitar hero Gary Clark Jr. for the live debut of “What Did I Do?/God as My Witness,” a song dedicated to Austin from their new album Sonic Highways and one that rocks far harder live than the recording. The sentiment only continued when the legendary Jimmie Vaughan strolled on stage and plugged in next to Gary Clark Jr. to join the band for a cover of his own “Tuff Enuff,” a swaggering blues rocker sung by Grohl, who nailed it despite having to read the lyrics off a teleprompter.

Good times rolled on as the band plowed through flawless live takes of songs like “In the Clear,” “I’ll Stick Around,” and “All My Life,” encouraging the audience to sing along and get right on down with them. At this point a previous version of the setlist that circulated before the show was all but ditched and in its place came a series of rowdy covers. Gary Clark Jr. took over on Grohl’s guitar for the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” while Grohl grabbed a bottle of champagne and danced through the crowd, even climbing up to the mezzanine level and passing the bottle around with his fans. The band’s silly but rollicking cover of Cheap Trick’s “Stiff Competition” saw Grohl swapping spots with Taylor Hawkins, who sang the tune while he pounded away on the drums. Heading towards the three-hour mark, the band was all smiles while offering Foo-style takes on megahits from Queen and David Bowie (“Under Pressure”), Tom Petty (“Breakdown”), and Van Halen (“Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”). By the time they closed with two of their biggest hits, “Best of You” and “Everlong,” there was no encore needed as the Foo Fighters had taken everyone on a journey of rock and roll at its finest, adding one more glorious show to their ever-building musical legacy.

Photos by Scott Newton.