Concert review: A little rain couldn’t stop Foo Fighters from setting Target Field on fire

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read

Much has changed for Foo Fighters in the nearly six years that has passed since their last show in the metro, including the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in their first eligible year) and the further expansion of their following. But the most obvious difference Sunday night at Target Field was the absence of drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died unexpectedly in March 2022 when the band was on tour in Colombia.

Thanks to his big personality and obvious talent, Hawkins served a crucial role in a band that was founded by a drummer, Dave Grohl. Indeed, there was a period of uncertainty about whether or not Grohl would keep Foo Fighters going, especially after his mother died months later.

Grohl ended up pouring his energy into the group’s 11th album, “But Here We Are,” which saw him find a new maturity as he frankly addressed the wide range of emotions that come with the passing of loved ones. While Grohl and company did play several songs from the new record Sunday, it was far from a glum, ponderous night.

If anything, Grohl has upped his on-stage antics to new heights, perhaps to compensate for the lack of Hawkins. When we last saw him, at Xcel Energy Center in October 2018, Grohl came across as a screamier, Gen X version of Bruce Springsteen. Somehow, he’s only gotten bigger and louder in the meantime.

To wit, Grohl blew up the second song of the set, “No Son of Mine,” into a mini rock epic complete with snippets of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” (Speaking of, Grohl’s exaggeratedly gruff speaking/shouting voice and ample use of profanity brought to mind Metallica’s James Hetfield.)

Grohl dropped references to both classic rock and his own favorites throughout the show, from a “Stairway to Heaven” tease before his acoustic “Skin and Bones” to the hook of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” that popped up during “Nothing at All.” During a band introduction — that, frankly, went on a bit too long — he riffed on hits from AC/DC (with guitarist Chris Shiflett), Beastie Boys (bassist Nate Mendel) and the Ramones (guitarist Pat Smear).

Elsewhere, Grohl gave not one, but two shout outs to Husker Dü (he called them one of his favorite bands ever) and, in introducing new drummer Josh Freese, he played the riff of the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” as an explanation of Freese’s Minnesota connection.

For his part, Freese proved to be an ideal match for Foo Fighters’ sound, with his muscular and precise playing, which was particularly noticeable during an extended take on “Breakout.” The 51-year-old is one of the hardest working drummers in the business, having played with a wide variety of artists, including the Replacements, Guns N’ Roses, Devo, Sting, Kelly Clarkson, Weezer, Katy Perry and Michael Buble.

A brief downpour ended up delaying the show’s start by 15 minutes, which Grohl apologized for from the stage, but did little to dampen the enthusiasm from both the stage and the sold-out crowd of more than 40,000. The generous set list touched on various points of the band’s nearly 30 year career. However, Grohl’s commitment to full-throat screaming did feel awkward on the oldies “Learn to Fly” and “This Is a Call.”

Then again, two of the few songs he sang more naturally turned out to be two of the duller moments of the night. He brought his daughter Violet out to help him sing “Show Me How,” a tribute to his late mother, and dedicated the early album track “Aurora” to Hawkins.

Given his remarkable and sustained success leading one of the few contemporary rock bands left at this level, there’s not much Grohl can’t do — except turn personal songs of grief into stadium fodder.

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