CHICAGO, Ill. (Foo Fighters Fans Website) - The proclamation once belonged to Lou Gehrig, but now Dave Grohl considers himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
Consider for a moment that the exhumed Nirvana track "You Know You're Right" and "All My Life," the Foo Fighters' first single off the forthcoming One by One, are dueling each other on modern rock radio. And then consider that while the Foo Fighters were playing Chicago's tiny Metro Friday (Oct. 18) night because they wanted to, former Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic and his new band Eyes Adrift played Chicago's even tinier Schuba's the night before because they had to.
What should be the Foo Fighters' next "Everlong"-sized smash single, "Times Like These," is about Grohl deciding not to sweat the little things and realize that it doesn't get any better than this. He unveiled the new track eight songs into the Foos' 17-song set at the Metro. Before it kicked in, he told the packed house that the group meticulously recorded One by One for several months before scrapping every last note because, as he joked, "it sounded too good." Later, he said, it was re-recorded in a mere 12 days - vocals and overdubs excluded.
Whatever proficiency the Foos applied to those expeditious sessions was easily duplicated during the group's 90-minute show. Showcasing six songs from One by One, Grohl kept the pace brisk and the material aggressive throughout, charging through "All My Life," "Breakout," "My Hero," "Generator," and "Learn to Fly" before going the banter route. Particularly powerful was the Black Sabbathy jam at the outro of "My Hero" and, later, the infectious metal groove of the new song "Have It All."
Drummer Taylor Hawkins - now sporting a handlebar mustache and an almost skeletal physique - was his usual whirlwind self, able to blaze-up tempo shifters "For All the Cows" and "Low," and prove his versatility by singing lead on the spot-on cover of the Police's "Next to You."
Better was Grohl's ability to turn a negative into a positive, like when he busted a string during "This Is a Call" and used his newfound maneuverability to sink into the crowd while the other Foos souped things up.
"It's kinda like Ian Astbury," he shouted amidst a sea of moshers. "It's kinda like the Cult." Later, when a fan requested the Foos play the previously covered "Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd during the encore, Grohl's quipped, "that's so 1999."
If the Foos' performance at the Metro was indication, One by One will be so 2002.
