Uncle Granddad’s Midnight Hobo Train Track Magic Blues Whiskey (otherwise known as “The Drunk”) was in full effect at the Wachovia Spectrum Feb. 21. Foo Fighters, with tour support from System of a Down’s Serj Tankian and Against Me!, rocked the venue that night, although, prior to the Foo’s set, the real rocking was in the parking lot. I haven’t heard so many jarring renditions of “The Pretender” screech from car stereos and Eagles fans in my life. Loud and dumb seemed to be the mantra of the evening.
Against Me! opened the night at 8 p.m. with a brisk performance of last year’s rock gem, New Wave. While two of the singles from 2005’s Searching For a Former Clarity worked their way in, for the most part it was all major label tuneskis. It was kind of disheartening seeing the guys play to a less-than-half-full Spectrum. The distance between performer and audience was more profound than at previous AM! gigs, although bassist Andrew Seward and drummer Warren Oakes appeared to have fun even from my 300-level seats. There’s something about hearing tunes like “Up the Cuts” and “New Wave,” indictments against the mainstream, in such a setting that gave me pause. Rage, rage against the dying of the light, I suppose.
The Spectrum surpassed the half-full point by the time Tankian took to the stage. He had a solid band backing him, with his drummer proving to be particularly skillful, but ultimately, his solo show sounds like System of a Down without the hits. Tunes like “Sky is Over” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” coupled with a seizure-inducing light show and nearly catatonic Tankian, got the crowd riled up but left me feeling ornery. The stuff that comes out of this guy’s mouth makes no sense—“When I look at your hair, it reminds me of the sun rays. When I look at your ass, it reminds me of Beethoven’s c---,” he said before playing, that’s right, "Beethoven’s C---.” Truly, Tankian raises mookery to a new level.
Once Foo Fighters came out on stage, though, all the pain of Tankian’s D-level political rants went away, at least for a little while. Opening with a one-two punch of “Let It Die” and “The Pretender,” from last year’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, the band appeared in top rocking form. The crowd loved it and so did I, so much so that I seriously considered picking up the group’s much-maligned new disk. By the time the band performed second single “Long Road to Ruin” during its encore, however, I realized maybe Collegian’s Max Orenstein wasn’t kidding about wanting to kill himself after reviewing Echoes last semester.
That aside, though, you have to admire any band that puts on a two hour set. Giving high-energy renditions of hits like “Times Like These” and “Breakout” early on, the group capitalized on the crowd’s glee. Frontman Dave Grohl was a flash of hair and teeth, shouting into his mic and tearing up and down the stage almost simultaneously. Plus, former member Pat Smear (he of Germs/Nirvana fame) was back in the fold, which was cool.
Admittedly, the set was padded out with lengthy throwaway conversations, such as Grohl’s diatribe against learning how to read sheet music. Granted, it prompted auxiliary percussionist Drew Hester to defend classical music training by busting out a sweet triangle solo, but the time could’ve been spent busting out classy jams like “February Stars” or “New Way Home.”
Another trick the band used to spread out the set involved lengthy soloing. It was cool when Grohl and lead guitarist Chris Shiflett engaged in a guitar duel. But when drummer Taylor Hawkins unleashed a drum solo in the middle of “This is a Call” so long that I forgot where I was and what I was doing, images of Grateful Dead popped into my head. That’s never a good thing, man. Also employed was a second stage at the opposite end of the Spectrum, where the group acoustically performed songs like “My Hero” and “Cold Day in the Sun.” A subdued version of “Everlong” was also played here.
Overall, the Foos kept the crowd stoked the entire night. The Echoes material might not stun much, but hearing “One by One” and “Big Me” live does. The highlight of the night was saved for the last song of the encore: “Best of You.” Arguably the best Foo single since “Everlong”—it might even be better—“Best of You” was dedicated to the Spectrum, which, rumor has it, might be torn down to make way for a new arena. At one point, Grohl stepped back from the mic, and thousands of voices from the sold-out crowd finished his vocals for him. It was a shining moment in the Spectrum’s history, and a fitting send-off.
Then everyone stumbled back to their cars. One irate/inebriated woman started screaming that she hoped the Spectrum would burn to the ground, which was awkward.
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