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Rating: IN YOUR HONOUR TOUR Foo Fighters live@Pala Mazda, January 23, 2006
Feeling a bit weak and in need of a solid injection of positive energy? Then chase after the cheerful bandwagon of Dave Grohl and company during one of their upcoming European dates. The result is guaranteed! Those who were with me at the PalaMazda on Monday night, the only Italian date of the Foo Fighters' "In Your Honour" Tour, know this well. It was one of the most solid and engaging concerts I have ever seen. Nothing complicated: an excellent band, compact and rhythmically supported in the best way by drummer Taylor Hawkins (who also accompanies Alanis Morissette with a slightly more refined touch), an essential scenography made up of a wall of amplifiers, some real, others cardboard, "piled" behind the musicians, and an exceptional frontman who has played a central role in the history of contemporary rock (he is the former drummer of Nirvana!), set aside this experience and dove back with great enthusiasm into a new original project, bringing with him new ideas and great personality. The result is an exceptional live performance that showcases the band's most rock aspect, leaving the fans who crowd the sports hall exhausted and directing them to a home listening of softer tracks. In fact, "In Your Honour," the band's latest effort, is a double CD.
The first disc collects ten decidedly rock tracks, played in the Foo Fighters style, gritty and angry, among which the beautiful single "Best of You," "In Your Honour," a poignant piece with which the band dedicates their work to all those who inspired its creation, the ballad "Resolve," and the powerful "DOA" stand out. The second, on the other hand, is a collection of decidedly delicate and refined acoustic tracks, between blues and jazz ("Virginia Moon"), in which Dave shows his sweeter side and unleashes a soft and expressive voice ("Razor"). Halfway through the concert, the four even venture into a "reggaeing" swing, during which Grohl engages in a kind of brainstorm with Italian terms (some even Neapolitan) that some stagehand must have suggested to him (I'm not sure he knew exactly what he was repeating). Not a drop in tension, not a piece out of place, the concert continues until the final delirium of the frenzied "Monkey Wrench," with which, amid the cheers of the enthusiastic crowd jumping and repeating the lyrics of the chorus, they conclude the live.
With five albums and an EP ("Everywhere But Home" ed.) behind them, the FF confirm themselves as top-notch protagonists of the current international rock scene. The style is decidedly original, the songs have a well-defined identity and are often built around riffs that, while sometimes embedded in almost prog odd time signatures, manage to be incredibly catchy and pleasant to listen to. Excellent!
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