You’d be hard pushed to find a front-man more worthy of the NME Award for 'Godlike Genius' than Dave Grohl and after Friday night’s performance at Wembley Arena, I think few would disagree.
Grohl was officially presented with the award on Wednesday, making the Foo Fighters the obvious choice to headline the NME Big Gig, for which tickets sold out within hours.
The performance follows a two year hiatus in which Grohl and drummer, Taylor Hawkins agreed to take time out to work on other projects, that being: Them Crooked Vultures and Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders.
Grohl promised they’d be back and 12,000 fans were left in no doubt of that on Friday as he powered through an energetic 22 track set comprising of favourites such as ‘All My Life’ ‘Times Like These’ and ‘My Hero’.
“There are so many tracks we could play, but let’s face it, we’d be here all night,” Grohl told the crowd, “so we’re only gonna play the good ones. I’m just that kinda guy you see, I’m a f**king Godlike Genius!”
They opened the set with ‘Bridge Burning’ from the new album, ‘Wasting Light’ due out in April (11th) and continued to intersperse the old with the new.
The former Nirvana drummer and founding member of Them Crooked Vultures wasted little time between songs, seamlessly linking each with the introductory chords for the next, simultaneously whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
“We can remember the first gig we ever played in the UK, it was at Kings College. That same year you invited us to play on one of the side stages at Reading. We were asked if we'd go on after Bjork and play on one of the main stages", Grohl reminisced.
"Now we’re playing stadiums and arenas as big as this and it’s all thanks to you. We love you London!”
The 42 year-old father of two took a brief break from the mic mid-set and allowed Hawkins to claim the limelight for ‘Cold Day in the Sun.’
‘These Days’ - a personal favourite for Grohl's from the forthcoming album - proved a winner with the Wembley crowd, who were quickly rewarded for their loyalty with a riff-roaring ‘Breakout’ followed by ‘Monkey Wrench’ and the patiently awaited ‘Everlong.’
A sweaty and unanimous crowd call for “more” saw a sweaty Grohl and co return to the stage for a generous encore comprising of the ‘Young Man Blues’ (The Who), ‘Skin & Bones’ and ‘This is a Call’ before finally closing the night with the chart-topping anthem ‘Best of You.’
An eagerly anticipated and much talked about show that needed little in the way of a ‘warm up’ was supported by Seattle’s Band of Horses, Brit winning soulman Cee Lo Green and Radio One DJ Zane Lowe.
The Foo Fighters are a band that just get better with age, yet continue to perform with the passion and vigour of a newcomer desperate to win their audience, and tonight's gig was no exception.
The Foo Fighters will return to the UK this summer to headline the Isle of Wight Festival (10th June) and will play at the Milton Keynes Bowl (2nd & 3rd July) followed by T in the Park (8th July) 2011. ‘Like’ our facebook page and be entered into a draw to win 1000 CDs including rare, signed and promotional copies here!