Foo Fighters take First Niagara Pavilion
A “hometown show”. This is what Dave Grohl called Tuesday’s performance at the First Niagara Pavilion. Though he is actually from Ohio, Grohl’s mother, “Sweet Miss Virginia Grohl”, was born in Pittsburgh and it was the closest stop on the tour to where he actually grew up! This announcement came after he tore through a few classic songs with drummer, Taylor Hawkins, bassist, Nate Mendel, and lead guitarist, Chris Shiflett.
The show got off to an electric start with fan favorite “Everlong”, which turned into an extended play of “Monkey Wrench” and transitioned into “Learn to Fly”. Grohl promised that he was going to play through songs from all eight Foo Fighters albums, and he did not disappoint.
Endorsed with a few deafening screams, (to the person covering their ears in front of us…you should know better), Grohl then took a few minutes to explain why he happened to be sitting in an enormous laser-shooting, guitar covered, rock-God throne. The answer? He fell off of the stage at a show in Sweden and was not allowed to stand on his newly broken foot. We got to see an early sketch of the piece that Grohl himself had drawn up…and let’s just say, it’s come a long way.
The Foo Fighters continued to shred through some of their top hits and even through a few covers in the mix. As the show worked it’s way to the end, a fan was spotted in the crowd, waving a sign with the word “Low” printed on it. As this song hasn’t been played in a show since 2009, none of us expected what came next. Taking the sign as well…a sign, Grohl and the gang played “Low” for the first time in six years, which caused a massive eruption from around the pavilion.
The band ended their two and a half hour set with the hit, “Best of You”, which made the crowd go wild one last time. As with seeing any living legend perform, this was one Pittsburgh night to remember.
