Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl rocks the crowd with his band at Aucklands Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand, 2008. Photo / Wayne Drought
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl rocks the crowd with his band at Aucklands Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand, 2008. Photo / Wayne Drought
The Foos have given a lot of love to New Zealand over the past 20 years. Chris Schulz examines the proof.
January, 1996: Supporting Sonic Youth at Auckland's Logan Campbell Centre and Wellington Town Hall
The one and only time the Foos have played as support in New Zealand was on their first trip here. With just one album to their name, and with Grohl stepping up as frontman for the first time, it was a nervy but rowdy set before Sonic Youth's feedback blitz.
February, 1998: Headlining Auckland Town Hall and Wellington Town Hall
Yes, it was a major surprise to see two drum kits set up on stage. But there was a very good reason: Grohl harked back to his Nirvana roots to join new drummer Taylor Hawkins on the skins, bashing them together for several incredibly rowdy moments, including the thrilling introduction and a terrifyingly loud My Hero.
A sun-drenched and energetic late afternoon main stage set during which Grohl showed off his newly shorn locks and sideburns, with the set climaxing with an electric This is a Call. The band was later reported to have surfed at Piha and enjoyed kebabs from Fatima's on Ponsonby Rd.
January, 2003: Galatos (pre-Big Day Out show)
Demand for such an intimate sideshow by a Big Day Out headliner was huge. This fanboy missed out on a ticket by seconds when a Ticketek operator asked for his credit card details, only to say, "Sorry, the ticket's just been taken".
January, 2003: Big Day Out, Auckland
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters on stage at the Big Day Out held at Ericsson Stadium, 2003. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Headlining a Big Day Out bill above Queens of the Stone Age, Jane's Addiction and PJ Harvey, it saw a more mature Foos debuting material from their 2002 album One By One, their first album to steer towards a more classic rock sound. Everlong and Monkey Wrench were well on their way to becoming the classics they are now.
November, 2005: Mt Smart Supertop, Auckland and Queens Wharf Events Centre, Wellington
The crowd chants at this show were so loud, Grohl had to tell fans to calm down. "You guys. Stop cheering, you're too loud," he was reported to have said to the 13,000 in attendance. "Grohl charges round the stage like a teenager playing a tennis racket in his bedroom," wrote reviewer Scott Kara.
May, 2008: Two nights at Vector Arena, Auckland
Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters, plays to a large crowd at the Vector Arena in Auckland on Monday night, with the first of two sell out concerts, 2008. Photo / Greg Bowker
Despite coming on the back of the ropy album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Grohl got a standing ovation from the moment he walked on stage, and this was the Foos at their best, delivering the hits, the anthems and an awesome acoustic interlude that included Grohl's one-and-only Nirvana song, Marigold.
March, 2011: Christchurch earthquake benefit, Auckland Town Hall
Dave Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters, who played a special one-off charity gig at the Auckland Town Hall to support the Christchurch earthquake fund, 2011. Photo / Richard Robinson
A ridiculously long and ridiculously good three-hour show Grohl later described as "one of the best shows we've ever played". They performed all of the new album Wasting Light, then two hours of hits, but the highlight was Grohl running around the venue's top tier playing the riff from Stacked Actors before a Kiwi fangirl plastered him with a kiss. Epic.
December, 2011: Headlining Western Springs Park and Stadium
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters rocks Western Springs Stadium, Auckland during the last show of their world tour, 2011. Photo / Richard Robinson
They played "new songs, all the hits and many fan favourites, including the sprawling psychedelic heaviness of Stacked Actors," wrote Kara of their biggest New Zealand show to date, a bill that also included F***** Up and Tenacious D. "If Tenacious D are the thunder, the Foos were the lightning."
