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Foo Fighters Honor Taylor Hawkins During Long-Awaited Show At L.A.’s BMO Stadium [Photos/Videos]

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foo fighters honor taylor hawkins during long awaited show at l a s bmo stadium photos videos

Foo Fighters hadn’t headlined a show in Los Angeles in nearly nine years, until Friday’s performance at BMO Stadium in Expostion Park. That would be an oddly long hiatus from the epicenter of the music industry for any touring band of Foo Fighters’ caliber, and it’s particularly unusual for Dave Grohl and company, given that they call Southern California home. But recent years have been eventful for the band, sometimes tragically so.

On the one hand, Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility. On the other, that induction came in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the live music business for most of 2020 and much of 2021. The following year, Taylor Hawkins died during a trip to Bogota, Columbia. Without their longtime drummer, Foo Fighters canceled the remainder of that year’s tour, including two nights at what was then Banc of California Stadium.

Now two years past that tragedy, Foo Fighters returned to L.A. to play those dates, with veteran drummer Josh Freese now keeping time. The audience was well warmed up when Dave, Josh, guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel and keyboardist Rami Jaffee took the stage at BMO Stadium.

Amyl and the Sniffers got the early birds worming with their attitude-packed Australian punk. The Hives followed them up with an energetic set. Lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist played the part of Swedish Mick Jagger onstage and sipped beers from unsuspecting attendees in the pit.

That all served as a perfect prelude to the nearly three hours of headbanging, eardrum-bursting rock that Foo Fighters brought to the party. And considering how long it had been since they’d played in the city, there was no shortage of fresh material for them to trot out.

To that end, Foo Fighters didn’t disappoint. Their latest release, 2023’s But Here We Are, contributed four songs to the setlist—tying it with 1999’s seminal There is Nothing Left to Lose for the most represented album. The first track from the former appeared three songs in with “Rescued”. That came on the heels of another new addition, the hard-driving “No Son of Mine” off 2021’s Medicine at Midnight.

Related: Generational Reflections From Foo Fighters At Denver’s Empower Field At Mile High [Photos/Video]

Later on in the 21-song main set, Dave performed “Under You”  solo acoustic style at the end of the stage’s thrust. He had been out that far to play “Skin and Bones” alongside Rami on accordion. They both turned in their acoustic instruments for electrified ones in time to rock out on “Nothing At All”.

Come the encore, Foo Fighters once again referred back to their latest release for “The Teacher”. That portion of the proceedings was punctuated by an epic extended jam with Dave and Josh in the middle of the action.

Josh’s power and presence were unmistakable throughout the night. The 51-year-old not only kept up with Foo Fighters’ relentless rhythms, but brought his own fresh energy to bear on the band’s timeless catalog. He even got to catch the audience up on his impressive resume during the mid-show band intros. While Chris rocked out to “Crazy Train” and “Thunderstruck”, Pat to “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Nate to “Sabotage”, Josh reserved his moment for memorable beats by Devo and Nine Inch Nails, both of whom he’s previously played with.

As excellent as Josh was, there was still no denying Taylor’s absence throughout the evening. Foo Fighters went to great lengths to honor and remember their late drummer, including with a moving rendition of “Aurora”.

But as much as Foo Fighters filled their L.A. homecoming with the deepest of feelings, they still managed to sneak in plenty of badass levity, courtesy of Dave. The ever-gregarious frontman welcomed the packed house to the “rock show” with quirky jokes, fond memories from long-ago gigs in L.A., surprising riffs from his favorite bands—including Metallica, Black Sabbath, and The Beatles—and even a shoutout to a pair of dispensaries in his and his family’s now-hometown of Sherman Oaks.

Along the way, Foo Fighters touched on nearly every corner of their extensive discography (save for 2014’s Sonic Highways) while flooding the air with pounding drums, riveting guitars, and, of course, a surplus of Dave’s signature screams. At the end, the band sent their fans off into the night with the classic “Everlong” as fireworks lit up the hazy sky above.

After the second of this weekend’s local performances, Foo Fighters will wrap up their Everything or Nothing At All Tour with three more West Coast dates. Come the end of September, they’ll reappear in the Northeast at Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, CT. For a full list of upcoming shows and ticketing details, visit the band’s website.

Foo Fighters – BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, CA – 8/9/24 [Video Playlist]

[Video: Todd Norris]

Foo Fighters – “Aurora” – 8/9/24

[Video: Chrisedge]

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Source: L4LM.com