Foo Fighters open tour in Tulsa

Future Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famers, Foo Fighters and a band that should already be in, Motörhead, joined forces to kick off the 2011 “Wasting Light” Tour last night in Tulsa.  Biffy Clyro opened this marathon night of rock. 

Dave Grohl said, “We thought long and hard about where we wanted to start this tour, we didn’t kick it off in “expletive” New York or in “expletive” LA.”  By this time the thunderous crowd was so loud it was not even possible to make out what was said next.  Later he said, “You guys are the best opening night show we have ever had!”  And oh what a night they gifted Tulsa.

Scottish trio, Biffy Clyro opened the show with a energetic shirtless set.  The threesome came on stage to immediately "hit it" with an impressive display of sound and song.  At times the two seemed a little awkward together, but blended nicely in the end.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Simon Neil led the way with manic movements and effortless riffing, creating a buzz in the arena of things to come. 

“We want to thank Foo Fighters for letting us play with them, it is a dream come true,” Neil shouted as they ended a short, but enthusiastic set.

Biffy Clyro photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

After a brief intermission and stage adjustment, metal legends Motörhead made their way onstage.  Lemmy takes to the microphone and says, “We are Motörhead, from England, and we play rock-n-roll.”  As if it were ever in doubt to anyone in this crowd.  (I have waited wanting most of my life to see Motörhead, since first introduced to rock.) 

With a blistering set including hits, "Ace of Spades," "Iron Fist," "Killed by Death," "Metropolis," "Over the Top" and "Stay Clean,” as well as the new song, “Get Back In Line,” which Lemmy notes as “Our second single to reach the US Top 100.”  The set is fast, dark and rumbling music, with the exception of the stage set that featured strobes the entire song and a double bass beat that churned your insides and actually made me queasy.  It was amazing.

Motörhead photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

Another short intermission and the stage once again transformed for one of the hardest working bands in music.

Foo Fighters became one of the biggest bands in the world through a mix of catchy songs, relentless touring and amazing shows.  The band that erupted out of the fallout left behind with the death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, blends straight ahead rock, with whimsical pop hooks to make a sound that is all their own and captivates internationally.

"Wasting Light," the tour title and album freshly pressed, Foo Fighters played almost in its entirety in addition to many classic Foo tunes.  Foo Fighters breaks into the opener “Bridge Burning” and never slows down.  What was amazing is that even with such a new album, each song was sung back [from the near capacity audience] as though it had been on shelves for years - a royal testament to a loyal following.  It made for what would become a 2 and ½ hour show of hits and soon to be hits of new material.  New songs, “Rope,” “White Limo," and  "Arlandria," mixed will with fan favorites, “The Pretender,” “All My Life,”  “Monkeywrench,” “Best of You,” and “My Hero,”  the last of which had the crowd adding their supporting vocals as Grohl allowed them (us) to take over singing the chorus.

One of the highlights of the night was when Foo Fighters were joined by Lemmy from Motörhead to do the Probot (a Grohl side project) song “Shake Your Blood.”  The song followed Grohl’s testimony, “One of the cool things about being in this band, is I get to tour with one of my heroes, Motörhead.”

Foo Fighters photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

The night drew to a close with “Everlong.”  The closing song of a 6-8 song encore.  It really is unclear how many they did because Grohl and band tend to carry out songs and mash up familiar covers.  The encore started with a three song acoustic set that featured, “Long Road to Ruin,” “Best of You,” and “Times Like These.”  Also included in the mega-encore set was the Queen classic, “Tie Your Mother Down.”  Foo Fighters put together a lengthy and energetic show to kick off the tour.  I am proud to say from all evidence they were pleasantly surprised at the Tulsa response.

An excellent night, an excellent show.  Foo Fighters did not and, I suspect, will not on this tour disappoint any rock fan.