Foo Fighters, Hyde Park Corner
Last Saturday 85, 000 fans flocked to Hyde Park Corner to witness the biggest gig in the history of The Foo Fighters. Now at the height of their fame, the band were given free reign to pick and choose the support acts at this mini-festival, picking the friends they’ve toured with over the years. Joining the queue, and taking in the palpable atmosphere on one of the hottest days in memory, there was a definite sense that today was going to be special. It certainly was.
Having missed opening band Juliette and the Licks, the first band I saw were Angels and Airwaves. Tom DeLonge has clearly gone insane. Throughout the show he seems intent on fashioning a new persona as some sort of pop-rock Messiah. The band are proficient enough and occasionally a cool riff rises above the mundane nature of the set, but ultimately it is impossible to take epic “life-changing” music seriously, from a man who made a career out of knob and fart jokes. Some idiotic comments about war being bad, such as “I don’t really want anyone to die” and his assertion that “All of you can do whatever the fuck you want, I’ve changed my life and you guys can too” fuel the rage of this reviewer. Maybe you can do what you want Tom, but that’s because you’re a millionaire, the rest of us have a choice between overpriced Carling or Grolsch at the beer tent. I liked him better when he was a moron.
Queens of the Stone Age are at the top of their game today. With more riffs, aggression and deliriously poppy melodies than you can shake a Les Paul at, they threaten to steal the Foos thunder. All the classics are present and correct, with my only regret being that Mr. Grohl didn’t step up to the drumstool to reignite the chemistry that made Songs For The Death so unspeakably brilliant.
Unfortunately for Motorhead, no one really seems to care. That nearly every drunk person I meet growls “The ace of Spades! The ace of spades” is quite telling, with this being the only song most of the audience actually know. This is a shame, as the band play a technically flawless set which rocks in a defiantly old-school sense. Progressive or cool they might not be, but for mindless metal-orientated fun, there is still no substitute after nearly thirty years.
Most of the 85, 000 gathered in Hyde Park today are here to see one band. Tonight, The Foo Fighters don’t disappoint. Always impressive on CD, in the live environment the band are transformed into a musical beast of epic proportions. The sheer kinetic energy generated by blistering opening duo “In Your Honour” and “All My Life” is frankly stunning and even on gentler tracks like “Learn To Fly” or “My Hero” the crowd seem ready to spontaneously combust. Encoring with Tie Your Mother Down, featuring Brian May and Roger Taylor, with green strobes streaming through the air, it’s almost impossible to believe what I’m seeing. Final singalong classic Everlong closes the lid on a truly euphoric evening with one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. I travelled all the way to London spending catastrophic sums of money to get to this show and frankly didn’t care. If ever there was a blueprint for a rockshow this is it. Peerless.
James Fanning
