Kevin Bronson on February 9th, 2011

5

Jeff Miller, senior city editor for Thrillist LA and an occasional contributor to this blog, was there the first time the Foo Fighters played a gig at 1717 Silver Lake Blvd. – the first show booked at the venue by Spaceland Productions. He wangled his way into Tuesday’s surprise show too and tells all:

By Jeff Miller

“This is all about coming full circle tonight,” Dave Grohl said halfway through last night’s nearly 2 1/2-hour Foo Fighters marathon at Spaceland – er, The Satellite – on the night of the final booking for the storied promoters who’ve taken the club from out-of-the-way dive to must-attend-all-the-time-to-catch-a-future-rock-star-dive. He wasn’t kidding: The first-ever show at the now-historic venue was a 1995 benefit for the forgotten indie-rock band Lutefisk; the Foos opened that show, the first-ever band in the venue’s unforgiving 9 p.m. slot, and the first band ever to graduate from Spaceland to arena-headliner status.

I was 16 at the time, and one of the lucky few at that show. I wore a homemade shirt that put my high school band, bert., on a faux bill with Grohl’s former band Nirvana and my then-favorite performer, Beck (who also played Spaceland on that fateful night). On a night of spilling rain, I was snuck in by a member of the other opening band, the under-appreciated LA stalwarts Possum/Dixon. Once inside, I was speechless when I got to meet my then-idol, Dave Grohl, who’d just finished a set of music no one had yet heard. And if it sounds like I’m bragging, well, I am: By my estimation, the only other person in the club who was there for both nights was Spaceland honcho Mitchell Frank, and I’m sure he was too nervous to actually enjoy himself — on both nights.

I couldn’t find that old shirt last night, and thankfully it wasn’t spilling rain, either, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. I was snuck into last night’s show by a band insider (thanks, Shirley!), the band played a ton of unheard-to-the-public music, and I was only slightly less speechless meeting Grohl, although at least this time I had the good sense to get a picture.

Also unchanged: The Foo Fighters are one damn good rock band. At this show – the latest in what looks to be an ongoing series of local surprise shows announced on their Twitter just hours before they take the stage (they played the Dragonfly and the Roxy earlier this week), Grohl and his four-to-six onstage compatriots proved a maxim they’ve been working towards successfully since Day 1: Never underestimate the Foo Fighters. Opening with a non-stop run-through of their new, still untitled album (due in April), and pummeling through a sweaty, ear-bleeding stew of power chords and pop melody, the Foo Fighters came off not just as rock veterans, but among the most capably reliable bands on the planet.

So what if their brand of ballsy rock doesn’t exactly break down barriers: It takes songwriting stamina to be writing (this late in their career) future sing-along back-breakers like the new “These Days.” And it takes balls to follow it up with balladry featuring a violin player – though, to be fair, that song also devolved into machine-gun guitar play and Grohl’s deep-from-below-growl as well.

But it’s the strength of the old material that still makes the Foo Fighters so remarkable. There is literally no other band of the alt-rock era that’s been so consistent in their hit-making. I’ve previously written (in Variety) that the Foo Fighters are this generation’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and I stand by that statement: Like the lifelong roots-rocketeer, Grohl and the rest of the Fighters have gotten so good at doing one thing extremely well that they constantly go unappreciated for it. Case in point: Last night, they played, back-to-back-to-back-to-back, the hard-rocking “Stacked Actors” (with an added-on prog-rock breakdown), the scream-apalooza “I’ll Stick Around,” the sway-poppy “Learn To Fly” and the always bruising “My Hero.” Most bands would be content – and have made a future career of fairgrounds and festivals – with just one of those songs. Then there are “Monkeywrench,” “Everlong” and “All My Life.” The list almost doesn’t stop.

All these (and many, many, many more) were run through with verve, stamina and passion. They’re key components to the longevity of any band, but even more impressive from one that started in the same club, 15 years earlier. And as the Foos closed a sweaty chapter in the history of the Eastside, one thing clearly had changed since that fateful, phenomenal day in 1995: Man, now my knees really hurt after jumping around for 2 1/2 hours.

Of course, it’s still worth it.

Setlist:

Bridge Burning
Rope
Dear Rosemary
White Limo
Ariandana
These Days
Back and Forth
Matter of Time
Miss the Misery
I Shoulda Known
Walk
All My Life
Times Like These
Enough Space
Generator
Up in Arms
Big Me
Cold Day in the Sun
Stacked Actors
I’ll Stick Around
Learn To Fly
My Hero
Skin and Bones
Monkeywrench
Hey Johnny Park
Everlong

E: Aurora
This Is A Call

Watershed was on the setlist but unplayed.

Top photo of soundcheck by Jeff Wolfram. Others courtesy of Jeff Miller.