Foo Fighters @ Summer Sessions, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow (17th August 2019)

with Slaves, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, The Van T's and Hot Milk 
Hosted by: DF Concerts

 WORDS: Joanne Gray

Following on from the previous day filled with mud, rain, gloomy music and an utterly awesome performance from The Cure, (you can check out that review over here if you want!), it was back over to Bellahouston park again for a second day of rock music and a headline performance from the mighty Foo Fighters. It had been what feels like forever since I saw them play in Edinburgh 4 years ago. As Dave Grohl's performance here also saw him seated upon his constructed throne after breaking his leg earlier in the year, I was doubly stoked to finally get to see this band in Scotland's city for music. Turns out it's been 12 years since Dave and co. last played Glasgow as well, which is utter madness. Not quite as long as The Cure mind you, but still... Anyway, let's talk about this show, shall we?

Making our way over to Bellahouston again, it started chucking it down once more, and any good intentions of getting to the stage to catch the earlier bands were blown away by the wind and rain (quite like my attempts to put on a poncho while traversing the gloopy brown swamp of a field). After hearing a little bit of Hot Milk before heading out to the festival and not digging their super poppy sound at all, I can't say I was all that fussed about missing them.

Ah well. There was still another four bands to catch that day so it wasn't a real loss here.

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WORDS: Ray Mondo

Up next though, were the local group The Van T's, who had certainly went some way to set the bar for the rest of the day's proceedings. Self-described as “everything you ever wanted from a 90s dream", they surely did not disappoint with their delightfully hazey riffs and reverb-drenched twangy tones, which were all topped off by their addictively feel-good stage presence.

Vocalist and guitarist Chloe Van Thompson greeted the crowd and expressed the band's disbelief at supporting the mighty Foo's, to which the crowd cheered back. Watching the band at work (if you can call it that for how fun they made it seem), you could see this has been well-earned and of course the choice of them being on this bill was a well-made one. Bright notes were chiming, feedback whistled melodically along while captivating the crowd's interest, in which you would be hard-pressed to find a down-turned smile.

Despite the fact I have been unfortunately unable to procure a setlist from that day, it goes without saying that The Van T's put on an excellent show and would have without a doubt made quite a few new fans from their on-point performance. Definitely another fine local band to keep an eye on.

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WORDS: Joanne Gray

Having somehow managed to miss seeing the third band on this bill every time they've been in Glasgow since I saw them support Sum 41 back in 2016, I was curious to see how well Frank Carter & The Rattlesnake would do on such a big stage, three albums in. After all, the last time I saw them, they had only released 2015's hardcore punk leaning Blossom. Taking a more subtle approach to songwriting in this year's End of Suffering (my review of that is over here if you want to check it out), I was wondering about how well some of these songs would work in the live environment.

Opening with the slow bluesy track 'Tyrant Lizard King', Frank and co. rebutted any concerns quite quickly. The band came on to play that muted riff at the start for a few seconds before Carter swaggered onstage with all of the confidence I remember from seeing them play live before. Bringing a casual sort of energy almost immediately to proceedings, Carter moved along to the swung bassline with a cheeky sort of mischievousness that managed to not feel overly cocky. This was a more subtle opening song for sure, and for a band with less charisma, this would have probably failed to capture attention from the largely unfamiliar audience. With Carter at the helm, this was not the issue, and certainly wouldn't be for the rest of their set. 

And this was clear when the pace picked up for 'Kitty Sucker' and Carter almost immediately jumped off the stage into the crowd. Managing to sing most of the fast-paced QOSTA esque tune whilst crowd surfing or at several points standing on top of the crowd, I got the clear impression that the mostly indifferent crowd was starting to warm to the band. 

Keeping up the energy, the band launched into one of Modern Ruin's more pacey alt-rock singles 'Wild Flowers'. Carter naturally hyped up the crowd by asking them to show him the mental Glasgow crowd he knows. As expected, this managed to get the crowd near the front jumping along to that anthemic killer chorus. Towards the break of the song, Carter stopped singing to introduce something that "we've never fucking seen before", as he told the men in the crowd to lay off in order for a 'girls only moshpit' to take place. Cue a few half-joking shouts about equal rights amongst what seemed to be a largely jovial attitude to things where I was stood, and the sizeable group of girls towards the front of the crowd started chanting. Easing things off with a gentle clean section, the moshpit exploded with a proud sort of joy that I've not really seen before. I guess Carter was right when he said this would be the "happiest moshpit you'll ever see". Pointing towards the larger issue of female safety at gigs (something which Carter has become known for over the last few years), this added a nice little injection of energy into the group of females which may not have been there before. So yeah, that was pretty cool. 

I was curious to see whether this energy would keep up into the next song, but the soul-infused 'Love Games' and 'Why A Butterfly Can't Love A Spider' didn't really give the audience much of a chance here. By this point though, it did seem like most of the crowd was on the band's side as to not let this drop in pace cause much boredom. All the better for it as well, as Carter showcased his ever increasing sense of expression and versatility as a vocalist over some tinkling keys and fuzzed up, low end guitars. 

I was definitely impressed by the choices of songs played in front of such a massive crowd here, and these two songs in particular spoke volumes of the confidence and chemistry this band has at this point in their career. Although I would have probably preferred they play some more heavy cuts instead of these songs, I can't really complain about the delivery of or the reception to the songs here at all. I feel I can't say enough about the charisma of the frontman here, who could probably make a solo rendition of the alphabet seem exciting to any audience he finds himself in front of.

But it is also in the faster songs that his infectious sense of energy is most evident though. Before launching into the next song, Carter would point out how awesome it was to play these shows with Foo Fighters who were such a joy to watch perform live. With a grin, he would then suggest that while Foo Fighters are one of the best live bands out there, The Rattlesnakes would still try their damnedest to be as good as them there that day. Ambitious words, but by this point, the crowd had been shown a band that was true to their word. 

Modern Ruin's main single, and perhaps the biggest sounding song of theirs, period, 'Lullaby' then rushed out of the speakers. The sense of build and release within the song would lead to a sky-scraper chorus which got a large section of the front of the crowd jumping and clapping along enthusiastically. During the palm-muted section in the middle where harmonised vocals lead into the final, heavier chorus of the song, Carter encouraged the crowd to jump about like his 4-four year did after eating all of the chocolate in the house (the story behind the song, apparently. The more you know...). The crowd obliged, setting things up nicely for the last three heavier songs in the set. 

The swaggering 'Crowbar' brought a sense of punky energy to proceedings that was somewhat reminiscent of Carter's earlier Gallows days. He even brought forth the first screamed vocals of the day towards the end of the song. It was at this exact point that I realised just how different this set had been from the last time I had saw this band, but it was none the less a successful one. In saying that, it was awesome to hear The Rattlesnakes close things off with two tracks from Blossom where that distinctive scream was shown in its full, throat shredding entirety. 

Although the band seem to have melded their earlier hardcore intensity into a more garage rock sort of sound alongside their other material, it is a blend of styles that worked well in the live environment during 'Devil Inside Me', and certainly got the crowd pumped up one last time before the last song, 'I Hate You'. Suitably titled, the song may be a slower one, but it's certainly not a ballad by any stretch of the imagination. Calling on the crowd to think about somebody they absolutely despised, the slightly distorted, syncopated bluesy twanging guitar led things nicely while the simple yet melodic chorus of "I hate you and I wish you would die" rang out from thousands within the crowd while Carter had a knowing sort of grin on his face. And it was awesome. 

Having entered the stage to a crowd of thousands of Foo Fighters fans who really didn't initially seem interested in the band at all, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes received rapturous applause from most of the crowd upon ending their set. If that doesn't speak of the rockstar quality of this band, and from their frontman in particular, then I don't know what else does. I would recommend going to see this band when they play in the Barrowlands next year if you haven't seen this band yet, but as I have been writing this, that date has actually sold out already. 

I think that proves my point here.  

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WORDS: Ray Mondo

The next, and final, support group of the day were up-and-coming punk rockers Slaves, hailing all the way from Kent, bringing with them some of their trademark bombastic riffs and sardonic attitudes. Appearing on the bill one slot up from Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, there was a sense of confusion among the audience. Given the former's cavalier stage presence, when compared to this understandably static punk duo - the shift in dynamic and overall energy unfortunately left the audience seeming slightly underwhelmed, despite the band's best efforts.

Kicking off with ‘The Lives They Wish They Had’, there were already issues with the sound levels that appeared to be outwith the band's control - drummer Isaac Holman blasted out some ferocious percussion topped off with his up-front and brash vocals. However, it seemed to be a volume-power-struggle between himself and guitarist Laurie Vincent - both seemed to get louder and louder with the low end slowly dropping out of the mix as time went on.

By the time the punk duo get to the comical thrasher ‘Fuck the Hi-Hat’, the sound became almost unbearable as the volume struggled more and more against the strong winds occurring during the set. The already abrasive tones of the instruments became even more so with the mix slowly but harshly distorting the sound. Order seemed to be gradually restored nearer the end of the set, as Slaves finished off with the menacing-sounding rocker ‘The Hunter’. This seemed to get the energy back up among the audience again, but perhaps it was all a bit late in the game to make any real impact here. 

Despite some unavoidable technical difficulties, the band had powered through valiantly and are still definitely worth checking out for those who are into their modern punk and two-piece groups. We may have just unfortunately caught them on an off day in this case.

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WORDS: Joanne Gray

After an unenthusiastic response for Slaves, it was relieving to see that the energy was already picking up for the headline act before they came on. Although the anticipation for Foo Fighters returning to Glasgow after a 12 year absence could not really compare to that of the night before at The Cure's gig, there was still a clear sense of excitement in the air as it approached the time for the band to come on. And then the big screens let us know the time was here.

Immediately indicating that this would be a very different sort of a night from the previous one, the band came running onstage to rapturous applause and feedback blasting out from the speakers. Grohl howled out to the crowd: "You knew we were coming back right? We've got a lot of making up to do". 

Then the band blasted into 1999's grungy anti-anthem about celebrity life: 'Stacked Actors'. This was definitely an unconventional choice to open with and one which would be unique in this run of shows in the UK. In a setlist which would later comprise mostly of Foo Fighters biggest hits, this song definitely resonated most effectively with hardcore Foo Fighters fans. Nonetheless, the sheer energy of the band onstage got most of the people around me at least bopping their heads and singing along to the chorus. As the chaotic Nirvana-esque solo section towards the end was followed up by Grohl's now infamous screaming vocals one more time, it became clear that this was going to be an energetic affair and that most people in the crowd would get pulled into the action in one way or another.   

This point was then proven in its entirety with the one-two of 'The Pretender' and 'Learn To Fly'. 

Once the iconic 'Stairway To Heaven' reminiscent arpeggio sequence started in the former song, the crowd began to sing along in unison. Taylor Hawkins' pounding bass drum then signalled an energy change in the crowd as they began bouncing along to the pacey verse before exploding into sheer joy when that undeniably huge chorus smacked our faces. Ever the seemingly effortless and cool frontman who's simultaneously full of boundless energy, Grohl chewed his gum while screaming like his life depending on it into the mike (as he would do for most of the set. God knows how he does it). Hyping up the crowd during the gentler section in the second third of the song, the band built up to one absolutely mammoth final chorus where Grohl seemed like he would blow out his voice and the crowd subsequently lost their minds. 

Sure, Grohl is not the most technically proficient singer in the game, and there were points in the song (as with other points through the set) where Grohl's voice would crack slightly on the higher notes. But this sort of charming, down-to-earth authenticity really works in Foo Fighters' favour for these sorts of songs. As will be shown throughout this set. 

Giving Grohl's vocals a bit of a rest for the next one, the cleaner but none the smaller 'Learn To Fly' gave the crowd a chance to really showcase their singing abilities, with the soaring chorus provided one of the biggest singalongs of the night. Grohl would taunt the crowd about their volume throughout the night ("You think you're a loud crowd? I'm the one with the microphone"), but it was with songs like these that would go on to prove that this Glasgow crowd could put up a fair fight against his microphone. To all the people who could hear the gig from other parts of the city that night, you're welcome!  

After this crowd pleasing duo of songs, I was slightly concerned about how the crowd would react to two newer songs in a row after witnessing the lackluster reception to the, then most recent, Sonic Highways material at the 2015 Edinburgh show. Choosing the two main singles from the last album, Concrete and Gold seemed to help with any potential unfamiliarity here though. And thankfully no Sonic Highways material would be played at all that night... A collective sigh of relief can be exhaled here. 

As the gentle, woozy guitar chords opened the first track, 'Run', the crowd were already on the band's side as they sang along with the catchy verse. Knowing what was around the corner though, there was a sense of excitement in the air as the verse built up to one of the most killer riffs of Foo Fighters' discography. With a simple but hugely effective set of distorted low end guitar bends and a bouncy drum beat, Grohl's vocals exuded the frantic self-abandonment that makes a song like 'White Limo' such a joy to experience. From what I could see, there were several small but intense groups of people jumping around and moshing with joyful vigour. And every time that awesome riff would come in, the energy would pick up once more. Clearly seeing the response to this, the band would stop proceedings just before the end of the track to try and get the biggest reaction to the last adrenalising riff. Mission accomplished. If the band don't keep this song in their locker for the foreseeable future, that'd be a huge mistake in my opinion. Simply awesome stuff. 

'The Sky Is A Neighbourhood',with its more laidback, gospel blues sort of feel, would then be a subtler affair in comparison. I was quite surprised by the level of response from the crowd here though, as everyone seemed to know that chorus and were really pretty engaged throughout the whole song. As Grohl would comment on later, the addition of a three-person choir onstage was something new for the band, and it would go a long way in providing the scale that the song shows on record. Whether this more expansive sort of song will stay in the setlist in the future is anyone's guess. But certainly experiencing this odd song in the live environment showed that the band could move into different musical territories with some degree of success. As long as they keep those crowd pleasing hooks in place, they can certainly do something out of left field like this in the future, as this was performed well and got a good reception from the audience. Another win here.  

Back into more familiar territory for the band though, it was then onto 2002's mammoth feel-good tune 'Times Like These'. The choppy guitars and lead melodic lines during the verses got the crowd pumped up for the mass singalongs which would kick off again during the super melodic verse. As a song that tends to sit within Grohl's lower register, the vocals perhaps didn't pack as much as a punch as some of the other huge hits here, but the euphoria of the song and the awesome instrumentals meant that this didn't really matter all that much at the end of the day. Getting to the last screamed vocals, the song truly did reach its peak as the crowd supported Grohl's straining vocals once more to end the song on a high. 

This was perhaps the best time, then, for the band to go offstage and take a short break while drummer Taylor Hawkins had his first real shot in the limelight of the set. Anyone who knows me or has read pretty much any of my live reviews here will know that drum solos are usually an eye rolling affair for myself at the best of times. Thankfully, there was an extravagant raised platform onstage to make things a bit more interesting here though and Hawkins'- who is obviously an awesome drummer- never really felt like he was being unnecessarily flashy or extravagant. All in all, the solo must have only been a few minutes, and it seemed like the platform was no sooner in the air that it was back down again and the rest of the band was back onstage. A sigh of relief from myself was probably audible to those around me. 

Spotting that the choir had joined the band once more, I knew it was time for another song from Concrete and Gold. Nonetheless, it still seemed that 'Sunday Rain' was an odd choice to play from the album, when they had already did a similar sort of song earlier. With Hawkins' and Grohl switching roles in their vocals here though, I do think it may have been another song that would allow Hawkins' to get a bit more attention and to give Grohl another break before singing again. Fair play, I guess. I just wish the song was a bit more exciting live than what it was. 

As one of the more chilled out numbers from the album, this was unfortunately one which made me think of Sonic Highway's more plodding songs. Sure, there were some interesting psychedelic stylings and effects which decorated the song, but ultimately this couldn't really distract from the fact that this song was the least engaging of the entire set. As Grohl wasn't at the front of the stage, and Hawkins' was stuck singing behind the kit, it was a pretty static rendition of a song that didn't do all that much for me on record either. And it definitely wasn't just me who thought that either. There was a clear unfamiliarity, and perhaps even a sense of boredom which seemed to build as the song went through its 6 plus minutes. Sonic Highways flashbacks were definitely happening here, let me tell you. Thankfully, this song wasn't as long as the horrendously overstretched version of 'Outside' that I saw in Edinburgh, but this was probably the most meh point of the set overall. Cool addition, but I wouldn't mind never seeing this song played live again. 

Thankfully, it was over to 'My Hero' next to inject a bit of needed life back to the set. Neglecting to start the song off with its usual drum pattern and bass line, Grohl began the song on his own firstly, allowing the crowd to give another stellar singalong to another utterly euphoric song before the rest of the band joined in later in the song. Not much else needs to be said here other than this being another example of a song where the crowd knew every word and sang along almost as if to compete with Grohl and his mic onstage. Providing another of the loudest singalongs I've heard in this field, this was another feel-good communal experience in a night already full of them. Magic. 

Bringing things closer to the present day but still sustaining this level of scale, the gentle notes of Wasting Light's 'These Days'  rang out wonderfully as Grohl crooned the soft opening section. The nature of the gradual build in this song throughout the verse and pre-chorus meant that when that more distorted guitar around the "Easy for you to say" scream erupted, it hit the crowd like a train. This is definitely an example of a song that manages to give the recorded version that extra level of intensity live. The quiet-loud dynamics really do make such as impact when you're surrounded by that wall of sound and 60,000 other people. It's hard to overplay just how great Foo Fighters are at writing and performing these kind of songs. 

As they'd done throughout the rest of the set though, the band weren't content to simply rest on their big hits for too long in a row. Concrete & Gold's 'La Dee Da' brought back the fuzz and a groovy sort of rhythm that had the crowd moving about, even if they weren't so familiar with the song. Throughout the initial verse, there was a clear feeling that this song would kick off, and that definitely was the case when that screaming chorus erupted. Reminiscent of the mad sections of 'White Limo', the whole song and crowd was injected with a burst of energy that got the mosh pit near to us moving about like it had done with 'Run' earlier. These two faster songs from Concrete & Gold alone made it seem like Sonic Highways never happened, and definitely went to show that Foo Fighters can still write a rager if they feel like it. 

After getting that out of their system, things calmed down again with Wasting Light's 'Walk'. Having only experienced this song once when- somewhat humorously- Grohl still had a broken leg, it was awesome to finally see the song performed by the band at the peak of its powers here. As the U2-esque trebly guitars throughout the verses got more distorted and the fist-pumping chorus hit, the band's energy reached a peak. As the song continued to build to the bridge and the "I never wanna die" screams from Grohl ramped up the crowd, the band seemed fit to burst out of their bodies with enthusiasm. And who could blame them with a song like that. Truly one of the biggest songs to have been written in this decade, and this was only emphasised in the live environment. A truly epic song to lose your voice with a band to. 

Giving everyone a brief respite after these epic singalongs then, it was time for the band to have a little bit of fun. After introducing each member of the band, they got to have their little minute playing a segment of a cover song, including Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town', Chic's 'Good Times' and David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust'. Most crowd pleasing was Rami Jaffee's rendition of 'Flower of Scotland' on the keyboards. This obviously had the crowd going nuts (we're a proud bunch...). After some banter back and forth between Grohl and Pat Smear about him turning down playing for the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in the late 90s to play for the Foo Fighters, we got a cool little solo from Smear on top of the aforementioned band's 'Scar Tissue' while Smear was chuckling away to himself being mildly bullied onstage. 

Not content to stop the party vibes so soon though, the band then proceeded to perform a cover of 'Under Pressure' with Taylor Hawkins' doing an impressive rendition of Freddie Mercury; crowd interactions and all. This was a brave choice, but one which he actually did surprisingly well. Especially with the higher vocals. Giving the crowd a moment of fandom as well, Grohl took the chance to jump behind the kit for this song, showing that as much as he is a great frontman, the drums really are his main musical passion. Ending the song with the cheekily teasing drum intro to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', it was then back to business for Foo Fighters after this fun little section.

If you can call a song like 'All My Life' simply just 'business' though... That's another question. 

As soon as the opening palm muted chug of the song started, people started preparing for the huge drop that would come a few moments later. Fitting for one of Foo Fighters' most consistently aggressive sounding songs, this was one that got the crowd screaming along to the desperate sounding chorus. Forming some of the maddest moshpits of the set, the whole thing escalated particularly when the palm muted riff came back in towards the middle and Grohl demanded every single person in the crowd jumped like mad to the break. And that they did. Nothing quite like hearing thousands of people screaming that "Done, done, onto the next one" line at the top of their lungs. At this point it's almost criminal just how much more huge the ripping sound on this track feels live. Grohl barely paused for breath throughout and the three guitars attacked in unison, not letting the audience rest for a second.

This frenetic energy continued with 'I'll Stick Around' from the band's 1995 debut (arguably my favourite Foo Fighters album, and one of my favourite songs of theirs). Although this was definitely a lesser known song by much of the crowd, the grungey tone of the guitars in the verses kept everyone's attention until the utterly undeniably "I don't owe you anything" shouted chorus. Beefing up the original version's lo-fi recording with those chunky guitars from Smear and Shiflett in addition to Taylor's excellent drumming and Mendel holding everything together in his composed sort of way, this was an awesome rendition of the song. Marking the first time the band would play the song in the tour so far, this was also a very nice surprise indeed.

Bringing things back to more familiar territories, it was then over to a slightly slowed down and more sedate version of 'Wheels', the surprisingly prominent single from the band's 2009 Greatest Hits album. Removing much of the drumming and embellishments from the original, the more stripped back version here allowed for the crowd singalong to really come to life all the more. Although the more up and front position of Grohl here did put the strain of his vocals on full display, the sections where the crowd would follow up with the "when the wheels come down" stopped this from feeling too much of a grind for the band to get through. As mentioned previously, the little bit of cracking that particularly showcased itself here wasn't too impactful throughout the show, but one does hope Grohl can manage to keep going for many more years without doing himself some real damage. The man is 50 years old though, so I think we can applaud him for still giving it all he has though. What a trooper. 

This thought became particularly clear when the band then blasted another ginormous hit in The Colour And The Shape's 'Monkey Wrench'. Immediately upping the pace and energy once more, this was another song which got the crowd bouncing along and screaming to every word. When that chorus kicked in, it felt like the whole field was erupting as it had done so many times that night already. As on record, the angsty break in the last third, where Grohl screams the "once last time before I quit" marathon section using one singular breath, was genuinely bloody impressive. That guy seriously has some set of lungs on him. I could practically feel the crowd around me crumbling trying to keep up with the man. Wicked stuff. 

Marking a first for me, and no doubt with many in the audience, Foos then decided to follow up this song with its recorded follow up track 'Hey, Johnny Park!'. The quiet-loud dynamic was in full flow for this song and the almost-vulnerable verses from Grohl's maturing voice then made the grungily distorted chorus hit even harder in the live environment. As with 'Stacked Actors' and 'I'll Stick Around', this was another lesser known song, but it would be hard to find someone who didn't find the melodic hooks in this one to be totally irresistible. From the look of the band onstage as well, it looked like everyone was having a blast going back to the 90s for a bit too. I don't blame them at all with songs like this. 

This was then aptly contrasted with the more up-to-date offering of 'Dirty Water'. Bringing the choir back onstage once more, this dreamy sort of psychedelic track saw Grohl's vocals set in higher territories and the effect laden guitars swirled around the field. Although the song then began to expand throughout its duration into something that sounded like it was trying to be a more progressive rock sort of epic, I can't really say the song did that much for me live. Like with 'Sunday Rain', the crowd seemed to get a bit restless as the song ticked on, and the energy felt a huge dip towards the end. I know this is kind of the point with tunes like these, but it was one which didn't really seem to capture the attention of most folk; many of which I could see were beginning to check their phones towards the end of the song. Ouch... 

If the song did provide one good thing however, it was a moment between Grohl and one of the choir singers, who happened to be his oldest daughter Violet. Grohl explained to the crowd that it would be her last tour playing with the band before she had to go to school (boos ensuing from the crowd because, of course). Performing the role of dorky, annoying dad perfectly well, Grohl then tried to get his daughter to perform the next song with him. Cue shy refusals from the teenager and shouts of "do it" from the crowd. After a few more moments of lighthearted proddings, Grohl accepted that this duet wasn't happening tonight, much to the audience's disappointment. "Maybe another time" was the final consensus (and one which happened to be the case the next night at Leeds Festival. Damn you Yorkshire...). 

As the song finished, and the choir went offstage for the last time then, it was time to throw out the last few big hitters of the night. All out ripper 'This Is A Call' brought the life back to the crowd which had dipped a bit in the last track. The sense of naive sort of fun in the track very evidently bled into the enthusiastic energy from the crowd and band alike. As with the other live renditions of the recorded one-man 1995 project, the added depth of those three guitars, Grohl's more expressive vocals and the overall band feel here really gave an extra kick to the song which was so fun to experience once more. Not wanting to let the communal feel in Bellahouston Park drop for another second after this, Grohl pointed out to the crowd that the band doing an encore was pointless, so they would just keep playing another 3 songs right up to the curfew instead. This was a good thing too, as it was time to pull out the song which would provide one of, if not the biggest singalongs of the night. 

By far the most recognisable song on 2005's In Your Honour, 'Best Of You' was simply made for nights like these. As with the rest of Foo Fighters' hand on heart cathartic anthems, the song was performed by the band with such vitality and sincerity that you would have to be made of stone not to get swept up in it all. Getting to the 'Oooooh' mid section, the crowd sang as loud as they could. Revelling in the moment, the band kept this back and forth going for a little while as they played the chords underneath and jammed a little. Although the volume from the audience was sustained for the first minute or so, I did start to get a bit nervous as this went on for a bit longer and it began to die down. Thankfully, the band got the sense that it was time to move on just before it started to turn into tedium (and none too soon considering the song ended up being over 10 minutes long in the end). I can't begrudge the band for this though, when the mood was kept so high throughout the song. Apologies to anyone who was trying to sleep within a few miles of this show (not really... it was wicked, sorry). 

  

Nearing the end of the first set in Glasgow for over a decade, the band then deliberated over potential Scottish songs they could have covered. The Vaselines? Well, they did do one of their songs last time, and they're not quite the *huge* act needed for the moment here. The Proclaimers? I was definitely all for Foos doing a rousing version of Letters From America but alas. Bay City Rollers? Well that one would've been an... interesting choice for sure. Thankfully, the band decided to go with one of the biggest bloody rock songs on the planet: AC/DC's 'Let There Be Rock' (yeah, they're basically a Scottish band. Deal with it). It takes one brave band to attempt an AC/DC song live and for it to actually work, and this was very much the case with Foo Fighters here. The stripped back bass heavy verses and locked-in drum beat matched the feel good vibe of the band on stage so wonderfully. Grohl's voice was also surprisingly well suited to the husky voice of Bon Scott. Good times all round from everyone in the audience here. So much so it seems, that the band couldn't help but pull the song out again for the next two nights at Reading and Leeds. Nice. 

As the final widdlings of the song rang out to the crowd, this provided an excellent lead up to the final song of the evening. Of course, it was always going to be 'Everlong'. Dedicating the song to Dave's monitor guy who had been with him for over 30 years (and who also happened to be be Scottish. Bloody Scots. We're everywhere...), those clean iconic opening chords were then brought out to cause one of the biggest cheers of the night. When the distorted accompanying guitars kicked in, it felt like the whole place was bouncing. As the song has a low vocal range within the verses, neither the crowd or Grohl's vocals could fill the field as much as with other tracks, but upon hitting that higher chorus... my god. Another song which is probably known to most people who even have a vague awareness of rock music, it's not so much necessary to go into detail about the song. All that's really needed here is to try and convey the sense of joy and carefree energy exuded by this track in the live environment. Sure, this is a song which is perhaps overplayed by radio stations all around the world, but it's hard not to see why. Just simply one of the best songs, and the greatest things to experience alongside 60,000 of your fellow Glasgow audience. Such an obvious ending to this set was only obvious because of the sheer scale and finality of the song. Wonderful stuff here. 

And this only epitomised the vast, vast majority of this gig in one truly life affirming song. Sure, Foo Fighters are not the most ground breaking of bands out there, and their songs don't exactly stray too far from their blend of radio friendly alt-rock. But with the quality of songs on offer exceeding (almost) every other band out there, one would be pretty nuts to not appreciate this for what it is. A hell of a good time. You get people moaning about how you get the same set of songs every time with this band, but what we saw this night showed that most of the newer offerings and older cuts could bring something interesting to a set pretty much stacked wall to wall with absolute classics. The fact alone that the setlist was 24 songs long, and there were still half a dozen huge songs that they missed out here ('Breakout', 'Long Road To Ruin', 'Rope', 'Arlandria', 'Breakout' to name some) goes to show the insane ability of this band to craft and perform stadium filling songs to such a high standard. 

Although time will tell whether Grohl's voice will continue to hold out over another few years of battering these songs out, I'm sure that Foo Fighters would give audiences one of the most enjoyable shows they'll see for many years to come regardless. I'm already looking forward to the band coming back as they're by one of the bands I've enjoyed seeing the most this year.

Alongside The Cure, of course... Nice one, Summer Sessions!

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Thanks to Ray for helping write this (slightly belated) review of Foo Fighters at Bellahouston Park and thanks to you for reading! If you would like to support RWEI further, you can leave a comment below, give us a like/follow on the socials or get in touch for any collaborations/submissions.

Cheers!