Foo Fighters rock the Gorge

(Above: a photo taken with my iPhone of the Foo Fighters at the Gorge Amphitheatre on Saturday night. As it's impossible to get a good concert photo with an iPhone, this is the best we can do.)

It’s been 20 years since Dave Grohl created Foo Fighters. The group’s self-titled debut, recorded single-handedly by Grohl in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death and Nirvana’s demise, was a fast and furious 44-minute blast of melodic rock.

Two decades, seven albums and multiple Grammy Awards later, Grohl and his band are still making raucous music. And if Saturday night’s show at the Gorge Amphitheatre is an indication, they’ll be doing it for years to come.

The show was high energy, loud, and fun – all that you’d want from a Foo Fighters set. And Grohl proved himself to be one of the hardest working showmen around. Earlier this summer, he fell off a stage in Sweden and broke his leg. Not only did he come back to finish that show that same night, he was determined to complete the band’s 20th anniversary tour.

His solution: a kickass rock ’n’ roll throne bedecked by guitar necks, situated atop a set of speakers and complete with laser lights. “It has a cup holder,” he told the crowd, grabbing a red Solo cup and taking a swig of his “vocal medicine.” He designed it himself, he said – apparently under the influence of oxycontin – and flashed that first sketch on the screen above the stage. The throne is an eye-catching set piece, one that Grohl used to full effect. With his right leg still in a cast boot, Grohl may be confined to the seat but in no way was immobilized. He managed to headbang at will and give his upper body one hell of a workout while the throne traveled up and down the stage.

The show opened with a blistering four-song sprint through “All My Life,” “Times Like These,” “Learn to Fly” and “Something From Nothing.” The band – Nate Mendel on bass, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear on guitar, Taylor Hawkins on drums and Rami Jaffee on keyboards – next launched into “The Pretender.” A fan favorite, judging from the crowd rocking along with fists pumping.

Grohl then slowed things down for “Big Me,” performing it illuminated by fans’ cellphones and lighters. It looked and sounded pretty great.

Anyone who’s been to a Foo Fighters show knows Grohl loves to talk. And he did. He talked about this being a quasi hometown show, given the band’s birthplace in Seattle, and how he appreciated the beautiful setting above the Columbia River. He talked about parenthood and the 7:45 a.m. school drop-off. One of the best anecdotes involved Fred Meyer and how much he misses the Northwest superstore now that he lives where there aren’t any. It’s the kind of store, he said, where you can buy a Fugazzi cassette and a ceiling fan. He used the story to introduce his song “Aurora” off the third album, “There Is Nothing Left to Lose.” It was a highlight of the night as the song showcased Grohl’s singing.

Any complaints are minimal. There was a 10-minute section of guitar noodling that seemed more at home at a Dave Matthews Band show. More troubling was that the sound mix was off at times. Once it sounded as if Grohl’s mic was turned off, and other times the thunderous band completely swallowed his vocals.

Still, as the band rolled through a great cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure,” sung by Hawkins, “This is a Call,” “Alone and Easy Target,” and a rollicking rendition of “Monkey Wrench,” the fans stayed with them for the long haul, as happy to be there as Grohl and his comrades appeared to be. With the opening riff of “Everlong” – the band’s traditional closer – the audience erupted. It’s considered by many to be the best Foo Fighters song; Rolling Stone readers called it such in a 2013 survey. “The only thing I’ll ever ask of you,” Grohl sang, “you gotta promise not to stop when I say when.” And no matter how much many in the crowd didn’t want it to stop, the 2.½-hour set came to a fantastic end.