Foo Fighters Score High At Anfield

When Bruce Springsteen played a three-hour set at Liverpool FC last year, he set the bar high for others to follow.

The American rock band Foo Fighters picked up the gauntlet admirably on the second night at Anfield on what was their only British date on a short European tour where the band were at their bulldozing best.

As smoke – red naturally in honour of the football club – arose from the stage, frontman Dave Grohl asked the 45,000-strong audience, “Are you ready? Do you want to dance? Come on!” The answers were affirmative from the fans, many of whom had travelled from across the country and overseas too to witness one of the best live rock bands on the planet.

With the band launching straight into All My Life there was no let-up in a fast and furious first thirty minutes. The breadth of their appeal was apparent from a crowd that spanned generations: fans who were there when the Foo Fighters first appeared in 1994 to teenagers who had probably been introduced to the band by their parents.

At their most raucous, there was always a chorus to sing back to the band or an opportunity to raise your hands high in the air with a back catalogue of songs that came with blazing riffs and cast-iron melodies best heard on Times Like These, My Hero and Monkey Wrench.

“Everything I learned about rock and roll came from this city," affirmed Grohl to a roar of approval from the audience.

As the evening settled in, things became less heavy with Grohl performing an acoustic set which was in complete contrast to the heavier side of the first part of the show.

The current line-up, though long-established, features a set of musicians who have played in other groups. The idea of each member playing a song from their previous bands was a novel one; with the exception of one song, none had been hits. When Grohl took over the drum kit, the opportunity to perform a track from Nirvana was lost; instead, Tap Dancing in a Minefield – a track from drummer IIan Rubin’s solo project – was performed.

With the group ending a near three-hour romp with Best of You, tonight was all about what is the best in live music.

As Grohl and the band returned to the stage for the encore, he explained that he wrote The Teacher for his mother before the heavy rock pedal was pushed back to the floor for a live debut of The Beatles' I Want You (She’s So Heavy), an apt choice in the home city of the Fab Four.

As the fireworks lit up the Mersey skyline, even the pyrotechnics and loud bangs could not upstage what had been a blistering showcase of rock music in all its glory.