“Break a Leg Tour”
Foo Fighters, Royal Blood
Date: Thursday, July 16th 2015
Venue: Citi Field, Flushing, NY
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Foo Fighters made their way to the Big Apple on July 15th and 16th where they set up shop at the home of the New York Mets, Citi Field located in Flushing, NY. What was originally scheduled as the only NY area show for the Grammy Award winning band it quickly sold out back in December which prompted the band to add the July 15th show making this a two night stand for the band. Two nights in one area can be a blessing or a curse to some bands as often times a bands show is fairly similar night after night. For the Foo Fighters it proved to be a blessing as though there were some similarities that carried over from the previous night’s show there were enough differences to make it a great evening of music for those who attended both shows and for those lucky enough to get tickets during the initial on sale date.
With a venue this big I was really skeptical that it was in fact going to be filled to full/near capacity levels. As the opening act Royal Blood hailing from the UK took the stage it further enforced this thought as people seemed quite slow to file into the venue. Consisting of just two member’s bassist/vocalist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher the duo laid down an impressive sound that instantly grabbed my attention and kept it for their entire set. Having known very little about the band prior to seeing their performance I became an instant fan after about 2 songs. Thatcher’s proficiency on the drums gives the band a tightness that is showcased beautifully by the wall of sound provided by Mike Kerr. The band did a great job in the opener role and I certainly would love to see them out on their own in the near future.
After a tolerable set change the Foo Fighters would take the stage and remain there for almost 3 hours. Just prior to the curtain dropping it was as if the flood gates had opened as the venue was filled with probably one of its largest crowds ever for the still fairly new stadium. Perched upon a mobile stage of his own Dave Grohl proved to be the consummate professional as he didn’t allow a recently broken leg to hinder the night’s performance. (Grohl broke his leg after falling from the stage during a performance in Sweden) The band was in top shape as they blasted through a string of hits including “Everlong”, “Learn to Fly” and “Big Me” to name just a few. Sprinkled between the bands signature classics were a select few of cover songs ranging from a wonderful rendition of Queen’s “Under Pressure” to Bad Brains “How Low Can a Punk Get” and “The Regulator” which featured guest appearances by Bad Brains members Dr. Know and Darryl Jenifer.
The crowd applause for the evening seemed to come and go in waves as the largest applauses definitely occurred more during performances of the bands back catalog as opposed to material from the bands more recent albums “Wasting Light” and “Sonic Highways”. On a personal note probably my favorite performance of the night aside from an abbreviated performance of the Kiss 
classic “Detroit Rock City” was that of the song “Dear Rosemary” which provided a spot on pairing of both Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins vocals with Hawkins providing the vocals which were performed on the album by Husker Du front man Bob Mould.
There were certainly many highlights of the evening’s performance and the band did a spot on job of giving the fans their money’s worth however I think there were several points of the show that were a bit too drawn out causing a loss of some of the crowds energy. I think the show also could have benefited from a bit more visibility from the other members in the band. At times it was as if members Pat Smear, Chris Shiflet, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins and Rami Jaffee were just playing character roles in the Dave Grohl show. With those guys being all such great players it was a shame they didn’t get more of the lime light. Despite a few small negatives the band still put on a great performance none the less and If Foo Fighters are in your area do yourself a favor and try to get to one or more of these shows as the band will be on tour both in the states and overseas through November.
Foo Fighters Set List:
1.) Everlong
2.) Monkey Wrench
3.) Learn to Fly
4.) Something From Nothing
5.) The Pretender
6.) Big Me
7.) Congregation
8.) Walk
9.) Detroit Rock City/ Jail Break/ School’s Out Medley
10.) Cold Day in the Sun
11.) My Hero (acoustic)
12.) Time Like These (acoustic)
13.) Under Pressure (Queen)
14.) All My Life
15.) These Days
16.) Outside
17.) Breakout
18.) Dear Rosemary
19.) Breakdown (Tom Petty)
20.) White Limo
21.) Arlandria
22.) How Low Can a Punk Get (Bad Brains)
23.) The Regulator (Bad Brains)
24.) This Is a Call
25.) Best of You
