Foo Fighters at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend

Watching the Foo Fighters live at the Radio 1 Big Weekend on BBC 3 last night reminded me just how great a band they are live and how much their fans love them.

Grohl and the rest of the band came on stage and gave it their all for the whole set.  It was amazing to see the audience that included fans who have seen them before and others who came along to the Big Weekend to see some live music and ended up seeing one of the biggest global acts of the moment, sing and scream along with the best of them.

The simple stage in the large blue tent was all the band needed for their pared back rock and you could tell the atmosphere was electric.  When Grohl said they were going to play until they were told to stop he wasn’t kidding and they over-ran their allotted one hour slot with two unplanned encores.  Here is the full set list.

Bridge Burning
Rope
All My Life
My Hero
Learn to Fly
White Limo
Times Like These
The Pretender
Walk
Cold Day in the Sun (sung by Taylor Hawkins)
Best of You
Monkey Wrench
Everlong

This is a Call (Unplanned encore)
Tie Your Mother Down (Queen cover)

As you can see, a good mix of new and old songs.  ‘White Limo’ is a great track and it was added to by having the song’s video playing behind the band as they performed.  To see Lemmy run the band over and then drive them around in a white limo as they played on the stage beneath was a nice touch.



It is always a great moment in a Foo Fighters gig when they get the audience to sing along with ‘My Hero’ and this was no exception.  Grohl milked it for all it was worth and it made for great viewing.  ‘Everlong’ is always a crowd pleaser and there is something galvanising about this song that gets an audience, and in turn the band, pumped up.  Taylor Hawkins also sung a couple of tracks, ‘Cold Day in the Sun‘ and the unplanned encore track ‘Tie your Mother Down‘.

The BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend is quickly becoming a summer festival tradition and to offer up a selection of the best names in the music industry for free is a great way to give something back to loyal listeners and music fans.  I would have gladly paid to see the Foo Fighters play live and the people of Carlisle got it for free.  To watch it on BBC 3 was the next best thing and I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday evening at home.  I may have to scout around and see if any tickets for the Foo Fighters summer tour are still available though!