Foo Fighters’ Pre-Super Bowl Concert Rocks Hard With Special Guests
Music fans not happy with the fact that Maroon 5 is playing the halftime show at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Georgia should have been watching Saturday night’s pre-game concert by the Foo Fighters. The special Super Saturday Night show featured two-hours’ worth of hits — the band’s own and several amazing covers — and five special guest stars.
The concert on February 2 took place at a unique venue custom-built just for the gig in a 72,000-square-foot space with three tiers located behind Atlanta’s Atlantic Station mall, according to DirecTV, and it was broadcast live on DirecTV and Twitter.
The late-night show kicked off at 11 p.m. with a 15-minute set from Grammy-nominated hip-hop duo Run the Jewels, who are known for songs like “Legend Has It” and “Let’s Go.”
After their set, there was a five-minute break to get the stage ready for the Foo Fighters. A funny 1970s-set football-based video starring the six members of the headlining band and featuring commentary from sportscasters Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw, and Curt Menefee was shown to viewers watching the livestream. Spin reported that Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl directed the clip, which was about a ragtag team known as the Jackalopes.
Then, the main act took the stage to give a high-energy, one-of-a-kind performance. “This ain’t no halftime show — this is a good time show,” Grohl told the sold-out crowd as the band launched into the songs “All My Life,” “Learn to Fly,” and “The Pretender.”
The Foo Fighters then played a bit of the blues classic “Train Kept A-Rollin,” which Aerosmith made famous. Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins saw the legendary band at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest the night before their own show, and said he was covering the song for his friend Steven Tyler. Many people were hoping that the iconic singer was going to join the band onstage, but, unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
However, Grohl did surprise the audience with several other high-profile guests that left them completely awestruck.
Renowned saxophonist Dave Koz was the first musician to join the Foo Fighters onstage. He played his instrument during “La Dee Da,” a song from the band’s 2017 album Concrete and Gold that he recorded with them.
The night’s funniest moment took place when Grohl was introducing the other members of the band. Each guy played a bit of another artist’s song that they love. As keyboardist Rami Jaffee played the iconic John Lennon tune “Imagine,” it seemed as if Grohl was going to turn the party atmosphere down a bit and get serious. He said he was going to sing a song that is about “peace, love, hope, [and] togetherness,” a tune that can bring everyone together. He then proceeded to sing the lyrics to Van Halen’s “Jump” over the “Imagine” melody. Nobody could have ever predicted that move!
The next guest to grace the Foo Fighters’ stage was legendary Queen drummer Roger Taylor. He sat behind the drum kit while the band’s percussionist, Hawkins, went out front to sing the Queen classic “Under Pressure.”
A few songs later, country singer Zac Brown and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello came out to cover Black Sabbath’s heavy “War Pigs” with the band. The two then remained onstage for the following number, a version of the Jane’s Addiction tune “Mountain Song” featuring the song’s original vocalist, Perry Farrell, singing.
As the three talented guest musicians left the stage, Grohl joked that the concert was like the classic game show Hollywood Squares because of all of its star power.
The two-hour show — in which the band also performed songs such as “The Sky Is a Neighborhood,” “My Hero,” “Monkey Wrench,” and “Run” — ended with Foo Fighters favorites “Best of You” and “Everlong.”
It was truly a magical night in Atlanta for the Foo Fighters and fans of the band.
If you missed the concert, you’re in luck — it is still available to watch on Twitter. Check it out below.
THAT WAS A PARTY!!!!?#SuperSaturdayNight
You can still watch here if ya missed it the first time!?
https://t.co/AsN4Btdu1S— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) February 3, 2019
