The price of admission to the Foo Fighters concert on Jan. 22 at the Toyota Center included mosh pits, a frenzied audience and deafening drum solos. In short, a near perfect rock show, complete with screaming, air drumming and an entire audience singing along to the radio hits.
As I Lay Dying, the first opening band, didn’t quite get the audience’s attention, as most people were concerned with buying T-shirts or beer in the hallways before the main attraction. The newcomers managed to gain some of the audience’s attention as people began slowly filing in.
Jimmy Eat World, the second act, managed better than As I Lay Dying, as lead singer Jim Adkins promised to play a little of everything – new, old and well-known.
Opening with an energetic "Sweetness," Jimmy Eat World got the audience warmed up before the Foo Fighters took the stage.
Jimmy continued with its set, mixing up songs from both its latest effort, Chase This Light and other chart-topping singles, "Pain," "Dizzy" and "Carry You."
The set finished with the radio-friendly hit, "The Middle," which got at least some of the audience enthused about the group’s set, pulling in a larger crowd than As I Lay Dying.
With the crowd warmed up by two bands, the Foo Fighters had no problem revving up the venue with the opening song, "The Pretender," from their latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.
The impatient audience welcomed them loudly by following along with most of the songs, including the band’s hits "The One" and "Breakout."
Whereas "Learning to Fly" started mosh pits in the crowded floor area where people threw up the rock sign, "Monkey Wrench" and "All My Life" got the entire grateful audience to scream along with the lyrics.
The Foo Fighter’s show wasn’t all insanity, however, as acoustic versions of "Skin and Bones," and "Big Me" mellowed out the crowd and cooled down the frenzy.
Drummer Taylor Hawkins was truly inspiring to all wannabe musicians, who air drummed along with the 10-minute solo following "Stacked Actors."
The final song, "Best of You," gave the energetic show a satisfying end, despite lead singer Dave Grohl’s voice giving out a little.
Just before the encore, Grohl told the audience that the band would come back to Houston more often than it has since its 2003 album, One By One. Here’s hoping they do.
