LA show/highlights
indianafoo
28 posts
My wife and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the tribute show in LA. The articles that anyone has read they are spot on. I walked away from this show appreciating more what the Foo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins means, as artists and as people.
My wife and I's seats were side seats and here are my highlights:
- Best opening band ever- all the musicians that performed before the Foo Fighters set, WOW and hearing their stories about Taylor were very cool to hear.
- To build on the first bullet there were so many legends I was truly in awe.
- I am not much of a Josh Homme fan, but he came across as a cool genuine guy on stage, he acknowledged the seating behind the stage.
- If I had to choose a favorite drummer, I really liked Josh Freese and Shane Hawkins. Shane plays like Taylor and Freese is built to be a drummer (he reminds me a little bit of Jimmy Chamberlain).
- Justin Hawkins is a great front man, he put on a great show with his part.
- The Queen set was chilling especially with Brian May playing 'Love of My Life.'
- Not 1, not 2, but there were many "Taylor Hawkins" crowd chants.
- I really never paid attention until this show, but Chris is an excellent/talented lead guitarist. I am not much of a fan of the lead guitar, but it would be cool to hear more Chris lead guitar parts moving forward.
Lastly, I think the band is going to continue on, but they need break, yes even Dave. I could see Dave doing drum parts in the studio for the album and I think Shane or Josh Freese fit to tour with the band. I am a huge silverchair fan, I hope they get their differences worked out, but I don't want to see the Foo Fighters take a silverchair break.
Thanks to the Foo Fighters and to the many musicians who put on a wonderful show...Taylor not only would be proud, but he was smiling from above.
Thanks for reading!
Comments
I love Josh Freese, but his plate is already pretty bloody full. I'm still leaning towards Rufus, if not Shane in a few years.
The day after the tribute show, I bought a ticket to see The Darkness because they're here in Aus in about a week.
My highlight was Them Crooked Vultures. Even if it was only one song + a qotsa song. The thing that will stick with me the most was Chris breaking down into a sob at the very very end because I'd kind of forgotten it was a sombre situation. It was heartbreaking.
Is Josh Freese in a band? I think Rufus would do a good job.
I did not catch Chris sobbing at the end of the show; I agree that is heartbreaking. As time passes, I wonder if Nate, Pat, or Rami will open up about Taylor.
I really like the cover of the new Foo Fighters vinyl that is coming out, the band looks happy.
He’s been a consistent member of Vandals and Devo forever, and also tours and records regularly with a roster of bands.
Most recently I think he was touring with The Offspring.
Josh Freese is constantly on tour with someone. I could see him taking a turn on the stool for a tour or two but not sure he'd stick around. I do think they'd be better with someone their own sort of age. Rufus while a fantastic drummer and would slot in perfectly has probably an additional 20 years of playing probably after these guys naturally hang it up.
Fucking EPIC. Took me until Saturday to recover. I seriously can’t even compare it to any other concert I’ve ever been to. It’s in its own category.
Highlights for me — other than the Foo Fighters set — were Queen, Stewart Copeland, Soundgarden, the Black Sabbath set, and P!NK. P!NK sang a song with Ann Wilson from Heart (“Barracuda”), Queen (“Somebody to Love”), and Foo Fighters (“The Pretender”). She was AMAZING! So was Alanis Morrissette, even though she only played one song.
I managed to sneak down to the floor (from section 206) and found a spot that was pretty much dead center in the middle of the arena. It was a great spot to be surrounded by all of the energy of the performers and the audience and just take it all in. This was especially beautiful when Brian May played “Love of My Life.” I looked around at all of the phones lit up, and then I gazed up at the ceiling of The Forum. There were twinkly starlights up there, too. Just beautiful.
I’ll also think that this show was really different from the Wembley show, which was so amazing. Here’s what I think made the biggest difference. This show was the yin to the Wembley show’s yang. There was a deep sadness at the Wembley show that permeated everything. It makes sense that it did, but that sadness was still there. More often than not, I found myself thinking, “I miss Taylor,” especially the Foo Fighters set. Almost every drummer who sat in with FF made me think, “That’s not Taylor.”
At the LA show, on the other hand, I didn’t really miss Taylor the same way. Watching all of the performances, I kept thinking, “Taylor would LOVE this!”
The entire night was a CELEBRATION! A celebration of life and love and music. Everyone there were performers who loved Taylor, and who Taylor loved. Everyone in the audience was there to show their love for a Taylor and the rest of the Foos. That love is what permeated the entire show. The night turned out to be a kind of all out rock & roll PARTY filled with love.
Some videos I took at the show: