Foo Fighters at Madison Square Garden

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Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Foo Fighters' very first show ever at Madison Square Garden (despite being a band for 13 years!)

The opening bands were a somewhat slow start to what would be an amazing headliner! Against Me, from Gainseville Florida started the night off, with a couple of songs which, in my opinion, had a much more powerful impact on the small outdoor stage at Lollapalooza 2007. Next up was, Serj Tankian, front man from System of a Down, who sounded just exactly like he does with SOAD behind him. He danced around in a white top hat, dropped the C-bomb, and generally freaked out every suburban teenage girl that was there to see the Foos with her 2 best friends and wannabe-cool, middle-aged dad (this I discovered indirectly on the subway ride home).

Then the Foo Fighters came out, with a flash of light, and thunderous cheers from the crowd. As Dave Grohl announced to MSG that it was going to be "a long f*cking night", I recognized immediately that this man was a true rock star! He banged his head, tossing shiney brown locks of hair in every direction, and howeled into the micro phone, tagging exclamations like "aw, shit!" onto original lyrics like only the real deal can! I do not own a single Foo Fighters album, but somehow recognized 98% of last night's 2-hour setlist. Clearly a greatest hits set. For me the highlights included acoustic versions of "My Hero" and "Everlong" which were performed in the middle of the floor on top of a round platform which most of us thought was a trampoline until we noticed that instruments had magically appeared on top of it 45 minutes into the show. Dave introduced everone in the band, including guitarist Pat Smear, who was part of the band's early days, but in recent years has been absent. The band finished off strong with a 3-song encore that ended with "Best of You", accentuated by a shower of napkins and toilet paper which were artfully tossed from the VIP boxes at the top of the Garden. (See below for full setlist)

Overall I was impressed! The endurance of these men was phenomenal! The way Dave ran up and down the long-ass catwalk that traversed almost the entire lenght of the Garden floor, without, it seemed, even the slightest shortness of breath, was more than commendable. The same is true for the energy behind drummer, Taylor Hawkins's, solos which seemed to bang on and on ad infinitum (in a good way). The lighting was great. The sound, of course, was great. And the experience was well worth the $29.50 plus service charge.

Now on to the REAL realization I had last night. Yes, I really enjoyed the show. Yes, I thought it was amazing, high-energy, well-played, etc. But the performance left me with an anxious feeling in my stomach. It was the sort of feeling you get if you're kissing a cute boy, but you are painfully aware that both your heart and your head are with someone else. You can't help but enjoy it. You are, afterall, a human being, but it's just not the same. I miss Pearl Jam.

I sat in my seat way at the top of the Garden and I watched those people on the floor jumping and screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs and I was jealous! Insanely jealous, because for many of them down there, I could tell- recognized the symptoms- Foo Fighters are, to them, what Pearl Jam is to me. And that made me sad. I was craving a connection with a band on that level that the people on the floor last night were experiencing, but there's only one band that makes me feel that way: Pearl Jam. And sadly, my band, is not on tour. Foo Fighters are not who I am in love with, but like any warm blooded music loving lady, I smiled and I accepted the kiss gracefully last night, silently lusting for that which I cannot have at the moment.

"If you can't be, with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with", Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Full Set List for Foo Fighters at Madison Square Garden, February 19, 2008

Courtesy of Foo Fighters Message Board

Let It Die

Pretender

Times Like These

Breakout

Learn To Fly

Cheer Up Boys

This is a Call

DOA

Stacked Actors/Drum Solo

ACOUSTIC SET

Skin N Bones

MariGold

My Hero

Cold Day In The Sun

But Honestly

Everlong

Monkey Wrench

All My Life

ENCORE

Big Me

Long Road to Ruin

Best of You