DAVE Grohl’s band of merry men may have recently starred in a slasher movie, but it was anything but a horror show at Carlisle’s Old Fire Station at the weekend.
UK Foo Fighters, the UK’s premier tribute act to the former Nirvana drummer’s group, kicked off their 2022 tour and 15th anniversary at the city’s venue, with a near sell out crowd in high spirits throughout the evening.
Making their way to the stage accompanied by Led Zeppelin’s booming ‘Immigrant Song’, the crowd rapidly shuffled into the hall from the bar in time for the group to kick off proceedings with the rocket fuelled ‘The Pretender’. Just as the Washington band do in their live shows, a short blast of the riff from Focus’ ‘Hocus Pocus’ during the middle instrumental had those in attendance dancing away.
During the pandemic, the Foos released their tenth studio album ‘Medicine at Midnight’. As the band haven’t been able to perform to UK crowds since August 2019, it is the tribute act who have been the first to play the new tracks to audiences on this side of the Atlantic. Songs like ‘Cloudspotter’ and ‘No Son of Mine’ featured in the setlist and were enjoyed by those in attendance, with frontman Jay Apperley showing his appreciation to one particular punter who knew the songs word for word.
It was incredible to see just how much effort was made by the impersonators to make the act seem as believable as possible. You could close your eyes and picture Dave Grohl on stage, drummer Ollie Button also had Taylor Hawkins’ drumming style and mannerisms nailed to a tee.
It proved difficult to guess the average age of the crowd thanks to the extensive and eclectic back catalogue from what was intended to be a solo project for Grohl.
From the soothing ‘Big Me’ to the loud ‘White Limo’, which Apperley performed with the Foo Fighters at a Brighton show, every number got huge cheers from the crowd.
During a prolonged singalong of ‘Best of You’, it was clear to see everyone had smiles on their faces.
In recent times, with much to be worried about, having live music as an escape is one thing most will have been delighted to regain after the last two years.
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