Imagine having so many hits that you can open with ‘The Pretender’ and have your set only get better from there. Are you imagining it? Good, because that’s what the Foo Fighters just did for their epic festival closing headline set.
The band followed up an elongated version of their hit song with equally stretched-out versions of ‘Learn to Fly’ and ‘Run’, which Dave Grohl dedicated to the late Prodigy frontman Keith Flint.
Ramping up the pace, the Foos ripped through a few more tracks before drummer Taylor Hawkins ascended on a giant platform to play a frenzied drum solo and sing ‘Sunday Rain’ from 2017’s ‘Concrete and Gold’ album.
Pumping out hits like ‘These Days’, ‘All My Life’ and ‘Monkey Wrench’ like it was no big deal, it was the deep cuts that elevated this Foo Fighters performance. ‘Hey, Johnny Park’ and ‘For All the Cows’ in particular were a welcome to throwback to the band’s 90s performances.
But the best moment of all, and one we’ve still not forgiven ol’ Davey boy for is fooling us all with a monologue about his days in Nirvana, before bringing on none other than Rick Astley to perform a rocked-up version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Dave Grohl Rick Rolled Reading Festival. You simply love to see it.
