Get The Foo Outta Here!

Get The Foo Outta Here!

Story by Christie Bilbo

Photos by Joe Guzman

The Foo Fighters graciously blessed Dallas with their presence on May 1, 2024, at Dos Equis Pavilion. The facility was sold out to the tune of 20,000 people wanting to completely get their faces rocked off. With a packed house, 82% humidity, and 30 years of epic music to hear, the Foo Fighters didn’t disappoint.

The last time the Foo Fighters were in Dallas was in 2018. It was amazing to see the vast mix of ages at the concert. It’s always great when you see parents bringing their children to a concert. It makes for a wonderful bonding experience and memories for everyone involved. Especially for those children to be able to say that their first concert was to see the Foo Fighters play.

I was shocked when I entered the venue that the line for the merchandise booth wasn’t long. Where the lines were at was the lawn chair rentals. Everyone was scrambling to get their chairs and waiting for them to open the gates so the race could begin for the prime seating on the lawn. Fortunately, I was able to get my concert t-shirt and in line for my seat within 20 minutes. (That’s a record for any concert that I’ve ever attended!)

Once in my seat, the conversations of everyone around me was the excitement of seeing the band. There were somber conversations about the loss of Taylor Hawkins. Taylor’s death hit hard for everyone, including myself. I remember where I was that morning when I read the article about his death. I pulled out my Foo Fighter tour shirt from 2011 “Wasting Light Tour” that day to wear in remembrance. I questioned if Dave would even continue with the band. Remembering how devastated he was over Kurt’s death; I think every Foo Fighter fan was wondering what was going to be happening with the band.

The conversations then turned to Josh Freese. Everyone around me agreed that Dave and the guys made a great selection. Josh has played drums for the Vandals, Devo, A Perfect Circle, and Guns N’ Roses. He’s been a session drummer for Nine Inch Nails, Sublime with Rome, Sting and many more. So, for Dave to pick Josh was not a hard choice. He’s hard hitting on the drums. He has appeared on hundred of albums. He’s got one of the greatest reputations in the music industry as a stand-up drummer. I’m going to even kick myself for saying this, but some even say, he might even be better than Dave…let’s argue that later.

Now on with the show:

Nova Twins hit the stage at 7 p.m. The English band consisted of Georgia South and Amy Love. Their recent album, Supernova, was released in 2022. With the ladies getting two nominations at the BRIT Awards in 2023, they were an excellent choice to bring on this leg of the U.S. tour.

The ladies started off with “Fire & Ice” and kicked the crowd in the gut with their stage presence. With Amy’s vocals, she has the punk-like sounds that pulled the crowd in. Georgia and her bass guitar was edgy and oozed sex appeal.

With a total of seven songs that ranged from “Taxi” to “Choose Your Fighter” the ladies were all about hard hitting rocking music. Some of their music reminds me of No Doubt. While the song “Cleopatra” had the funk that had me busting some crazy dance moves.

Their stage presence is amazing. The ladies know how to work a crowd. Not only did they move around and interact with the crowd, but they also got everyone hyped up. For a 30-minute set, they had the crowd excited.

Nova Twins will be a duo to keep an eye on.

Foo Fighters hit the stage at 8:01 p.m. When all the lights fell on Dave as he stepped into the spotlight on the stage, everyone erupted into a frenzy. The cheers were deafening. Following his lead, the lights illuminated, and guitarists Chris Shiflett entered to the left. Bassist Nate Mendal and guitarist Pat Smear took to the stage on the right. Keyboardist Rami Jaffee was behind Chris. Center stage behind the drums was Josh Freese. Then the most epic welcoming ever was rattled from Dave, “It’s gonna be a long night, motherfuckers.”

Starting off with “Bridge Burning” from their Wasting Light album the crowd went wild. The entire venue was on their feet. Everyone was singing along, and the place was rocking. There was no holding back by the time they rolled into the next song, “No Son of Mine.” Slipping in with a little “Paranoid” in the middle of the song, the crowd never missed a beat.

By the third song, Dave was tossing water on himself to cool himself down. The heat that was being generated on stage was felt throughout the venue. With Nate slapping the bass and backing up Dave on vocals. Pat with his sly smile and debonair looks sliding in with his outstanding rhythm. Chris looking so effortless leading the band on guitar. When the camera panned to Rami, it was a psychedelic trip to be had. When the spotlight hit Josh, the crowd was ecstatic.

Dave, being the great front man that he is, he brought the crowd in with plenty of interaction. He was asking the crowd “Do you love rock n’ roll music?” Then the guys kicked into the song “The Pretender” that threw the house into a jumping and screaming frenzy!

He then informed the crowd that the night was going to be a long night. They had 30 years of music to go through. The band reached into the vault and pulled out several classics such as, “Times Like These.” Later on, they followed up with a crowd pleasing “My Hero.” But what really was one of the best was “Monkey Wrench.”

During the “My Hero” he dedicated the song to the local icon from Pantera, Dimebag Darrell. If you don’t know Pantera, well do some research. They are a local iconic band that started in a small bar named Joe’s Garage back in the 80’s…I was there! It was AMAZING!

However, the most emotional part of the night was the dedication of the song, “Aurora” to Taylor Hawkins. Being a Fort Worth native, it was hard for all of us there to hear that song. We lost not only a great musician, but what seemed like a friend. Even though we didn’t know him personally, Fort Worth and even Texas carries this camaraderie that if you are from here, you are family. His death was hard on everyone that loves the Foo Fighters.

Everyone that was there got to witness 2 hours and 45 minutes of total hard hitting energizing music. Not one time was there a song that the venue wasn’t singing along with. Granted Dave has an amazing band to back him up. He had the best back up singers in the house at Dos Equis Pavilion last night.

To wrap up the night, we had two encore songs, “The Teacher” and “Everlong.” With that we also got a promise from Dave. He said that they would be back, and it wouldn’t be as long the next time they visited.

With that promise he made, I’m speaking for every Foo Fighter fan out there! Dave, I hope that you are listening when I say this. Dallas will hold you to that promise. We can’t wait to see y’all again in the Great State of Texas!

FOO FIGHTERS

NOVA TWINS