Foo-ll steam ahead
If anyone ever had doubts about Dave Grohl's place atop the ladder of nice guys of the world, what he did in the 48 hours before the electrifying Foo Fighters gig on Sunday night would crush those thoughts.
A couple of months ago, the date of the Perth gig was changed from Saturday to the following night. No real reason was given at the time.
On Sunday evening, about seven songs in, Grohl explained to his fans, all 32,000 of them scattered around nib Stadium, he had to fly back home.
"To go to the father-daughter dance," he said, to a huge ovation. "And at the father- daughter dance I got f…ing food poisoning, and spent the 15-hour flight on the toilet. And this is the night you want me to chug a f…ing beer?"
He did chug it, sort of.
But it is just one example of why Grohl is loved by, seemingly, everyone.
Ignoring how sweet it is to fly back home for his family, rather than cancel, Grohl travelled halfway across the world and back for one gig.
He told the crowd at the start they were going to make it special - and it was.
Beginning the show running on to the extended runway like a maniac, Grohl and co kicked things off with Something from Nothing, from last year's album Sonic Highways.
From there it was unrelenting, from a dynamic The Pretender and Learn to Fly to brilliant versions of Breakout and My Hero. The only interruption was a "selfie-stick crowd surfer" who Grohl quipped was taking a photo while "his ass is in his best friend's head".
This reviewer was watching from the main grandstand and the spectacle of the huge crowd - a record for the venue and surely what will be the biggest concert crowd of the year - banging along to the Foos was unreal. The sound was at times a little swirly but pretty good for an open-air concert.
After the inevitable lull from that dynamic opening, Grohl kicked into a 10-minute version of Monkey Wrench, then an acoustic Skin and Bones. Times Like These, with the band on a rotating stage in the middle of the catwalk, was epic.
In a nice touch, Foo Fighters played a few covers that Grohl said "made us want to be in a rock band". Stay With Me by Rod Stewart's Faces and an epic version of AC/DC's Let There Be Rock was dedicated to Bon Scott. The unmistakable Under Pressure was last in the covers section, though probably spoilt by the fact drummer Taylor Hawkins can't sing too well.
And while we're on the negative streak, some of the extended instrumental freak- outs were a little unnecessary, particularly considering their back catalogue.
But back to the good. Set highlight All My Life was pure, unadulterated rock'n'roll, while These Days and Best of You were spot on.
Grohl and co predictably finished with the always- awesome Everlong, and waved goodbye. They don't do encores.
And in the eyes of his 32,000 disciples, Grohl somehow climbed another notch on the nice-guy ladder.
