On This Day in History

On this date in history, 8/27/2015, I saw Foo Fighters and Naked Raygun at Deer Creek in Noblesville, IN. Naked Raygun opened the show with a solid set of their punk influenced rock, but they were clearly out of their element in such a large outdoor venue. I would like to see them in a small club sometime and compare the energy levels for the audiences. I’m sure the club show would be the best way to experience them. They had been featured on the first episode of Foo Fighters’ HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, and were an early influence on Dave Grohl. His generosity in bringing them along on tour was impressive and speaks volumes about the man’s integrity. When Foo Fighters took the stage, Mr. Grohl was confined to a throne lined with guitars, a result of a prior stage accident that left him with a broken leg. Even with this handicap, Dave was a literal fireball of energy, and had the crowd eating out of his hand. The 2 hour plus set they delivered was crammed full of all their hits, plus excellent deep cuts, and a generous supply of cover songs, including an inspired take on Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”, promised to the crowd mid show by Dave Grohl, who had noticed a lot of guys wearing Rush shirts. He said that if they would all take off their shirts and wave them around their heads for the duration of a song, Foo Fighters would play the Rush classic before the concert was over. A surprise visit by John Popper, the extraordinary harmonica legend from Blues Traveler, resulted in a wicked blues jam late in the show. I have been to a pretty large number of concerts in the past 40 or so years, and this one was one of the top 2 or 3 loudest crowds I have ever heard…possibly THE loudest…just literally seismically loud, and it was like that for the entire duration of the time Foo Fighters were on stage. The lights and rear screen projections were absolutely amazing, too, as well as the concert sound. Kudos to the crew…they definitely enhanced an already wonderful show. Hopefully, at some point in time, I will be able to catch them again and see what Dave can do when he’s on his feet and has full access to the stage.

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka The Concert Critic