“This is what it felt like 30 fucking years ago,” beams Dave Grohl, faintly maniacal megawatt rock star grin on full display. “If you hear me laughing in the middle of songs, it’s because I’m so happy.” The Foo Fighters frontman isn’t the only one in high spirits at Shepherd’s Bush Empire tonight either. With tickets only available to purchase in person from the venue earlier this week, the 1,500-strong crowd have had to work for their spot in a fittingly old school way.
It makes the show - a teeny underplay for the stadium stalwarts following the announcement of their forthcoming 12th studio album ‘Your Favourite Toy’ - a night for the die-hards; the people happy to queue for hours in the rain rather than just refreshing a screen. And if there’s a band who understand how to look after their hardcore followers, it’s Big Dave and his cohort of rock titans. “Are you ready?” he screams at the top of the show. “This is gonna be a long night…” As if the famously curfew-shunning Foo Fighters know how to do it any other way.
