Final Foo Finale @ The Foobadour

This is where we left off on Valentine's Day eve --->

Foo Fighters @ The Troubadour 02/15/11

Foo Fighters w/ Mariachi el Bronx

When: Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Venue: The Troubadour, LA

Accompanied by: Megan, Colleen, Sarah
Genre: Rock 

Tuesday morning (2/15), bright and early we were gifted with this tantalizing tidbit of a tweet:

Later on, a follow up tweet directed followers to FOO FM 90.8 which looped Donna Summer's disco hit "Last Dance"...a secret message? Is this our last chance at love with the Foos? I wasn't entirely sure they would even have a last dance since the "secret" weekend show had been cancelled.

Holding tightly to Dave's joking references to Echoplex and Troubadour as places they hadn't played "yet", I connected with a friend of a friend, who I can now say is my friend too, and made arrangements to meet up by The Troubadour. Why the Troub and not Echoplex? It seemed to be the consensus location that most everyone was speculating upon...and after last weeks near miss of the wristband location (NOT Garage Pizza, go figure), I was going to follow the majority lead.  As it turns out, my new friend...we'll call her Megan (but that's only because it's her name), lived a few minutes away from The Troubadour, so when she drove by and saw the line already forming by 1:30, she grabbed her "mom kit" complete with iPad, snacks, and a blanket and set up camp. I arrived about 40 minutes later and got comfortable on the blankie ready to people watch and await more Twitter clues.

Technically, Megan was 50th in line when she got there, putting me at #51...so we felt pretty secure that we'd have no problem obtaining wristbands. But there were a few factors that we had lingering in our heads:

1. What if they pull the old "wristband/venue switch-a-roo" again like last Tuesday?
2. What if each of the 49 people in front of us are holding spots for above and beyond the unspoken +1/no more than 2 rule?
3. Why are they not unloading the truck that appears to have equipment in it? Is it a decoy?
4. At this point, there had been NO confirmation/tweets of this being the place to be, what is our exit strategy if they tell us "psych, this ain't the place"?
5. Why are we stressing ourselves out with such thoughts??

We determined that the venue had approximately a 500 person capacity...so we fairly confident we were golden, and pretty sure that the majority of those behind us would also score. Unfortunately, that was not the case...but we'll come back to that.  As the afternoon passed by, the line continued to grow, nearly to where the end wrapped all the way around to where it began. Eventually the Twitter chirp alerts went wild and four yfrog photos appeared.  Can't say the photo clues made a whole lot of sense to me...but then I am completely Los Angeles illiterate. Honestly, at this point, if the show was going to be at any other venue than the Troubadour, all holy hell would be sure to break loose.

Not sure what time this tweet appeared, but this finally confirmed that we were indeed at the right place, along with the latest Foo FM radio annoucement at 102.7. Sadly, it wasn't too long before the "that was quick. troub is totally sold out" tweet appeared.

By the time 5pm rolled around, security and Troubadour staff made their way over to the line and started with wristband distribution.  Now, remember, when Megan first got there at 1:30, she had secured us spots #50 & 51. What happened next merely solidifies why I am a bitch about how many people I will personally "hold" a spot for in line for gigs such as these.  As they made their way down the line, we had become #108 and 109. Then we heard whispers of "they are only selling 150 wristbands"...that just seemed impossible. Once we paid our $20 and had our wrists wrapped with the pretty blue band, we stepped back to see where the line would get cut. I can't say for sure, but it looked like they went about 50 - 75 more beyond us. We were floored!!  Surely there wasn't going to be a 300 something guest list?  But hell, it is rock and roll, and we are talking the mother effin' Foo Fighters....so sure, might could very well be!!

Megan, Sara, Tai & Colleen

At this point, we had less than an hour to kill. Megan, Colleen, Sarah, and I synchronized a plan between moving cars, juicing up cell phone batteries, and then meeting up to grab a bite. We ended up at some burger shack to wolf down some LA grease and I was over the moon discovering they had Ms. Pac Man!! Being the multi-task master that I am (not really), I ordered a cup of chili and tossed a quarter in the machine. Good times before more good times followed by even more good times.

Tiffany & Tai

Got back over to The Troubadour to get in line. Heard there were quite a few people who were really disturbed that they didn't get in. "How did everyone know to come here so early"...The police were brought in to make sure things stayed sane, but the number of unhappy fans ran high. And the fact is, no one had the inside track. Many of us had inside speculation based upon random music blogs and various Internet searches, but no 100% guarantees of anything. And let's not forget that damn LA Weekly Blog article that circulated the week prior, right? The difference for the first 150-200 people in line is that they were able to beeline their way to LA at the right time and willing to wait for hours upon hours on the off chance that they were right.


The reality is this..."You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time."  And so we moved on and made our way inside to wait for the show to begin. 


Upside of my evening was being able to watch Mariachi el Bronx from the front side of the stage which made up for having to watch them street view in Santa Barbara a few weeks prior. Seriously, this band is more fun than I can even describe. Since I had been listening to their current CD over and over again for the past few weeks, I recognized every song performed and let my Latin groove go hips and all!

Foo Fighters took the stage around 9 o'clock.  3 hours and thirty something songs later they called it a night. Absolute perfection! Best moment ever was during These Days (click link and forward to around 3:40 to enjoy), some girl felt the need to scream out as loud as she could "I love you, Dave" and Dave's response "shut the fuck up".  It was truly a priceless moment (and no people, it sure as fuck was not ME that did the yelling...not my style. Never has been. Never will be).


Thanks to Erich from the FFPB, here is the closest thing to a set list that I can locate:
1. Bridges Burning; 2. Rope; 3. Dear Rosemary; 4. White Limo; 5. Arlandria; 6. These Days; 7. Back & Forth; 8. Matter of Time; 9. Miss the Miserly; 10. I Shoulda Known; 11. Walk
------------------
12. Stacked Actors; 13. Pretender; 14. My Hero; 15. Generator; 16. I'll Stick Around;17. Enough Space; 18. Times Like These; 19. Cold Day in the Sun; 20. Big Me; 21. Watershed; 22. Long Road to Ruin; 23. Skin & Bones; 24. Aurora; 25. All My Life
-----------------
26. For All the Cows; 27. Monkey Wrench; 28. Hey JP; 29. Everlong; 30. Best of You; 31. Butterflies; 32. This is a Call

A few photos from our evening...

For any of you who have not been following the Foo Frenzy...and perhaps have missed this AWESOME video, please take a moment now to have your face rocked off!!  I present to you White Limo, bitches...

Wild Foo Chase

Foo Fighters @ Spaceland 02/08/11

Foo Fighters w/ Scream

When: Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Venue: Spaceland, Silverlake/LA

Accompanied by: Colleen, Sarah, Steve K. & friends
Genre: Rock 

It all started with the "secret" gig at the end of January in Santa Barbara. Dave said "see you next week" and most everyone wanted to believe that was true. And there was no disappointment as a 2nd secret show popped up on Friday 1/4 at Dragonfly in LA. I already had plans that night and truth be told, I was just not feeling it. I convinced myself that the SB show was enough for me. THEN, word was out that another show would happen in the very near future...  and rumors flew left and right: Monday 1/7 The Roxy. But it spread like wildfire and people were lining up as early as morning time. The cat was out of the bag and I had to let the idea go of even trying to head out with hopes of getting a spot in line. Hell, there wasn't even any need for Dave to send out "FooClues" via Twitter, that is how sure folks were of the venue. Wanting to believe that there would be at least one more time to catch another show that might be less of a clusterfuck, I chose not venture off to The Roxy.

Luck was on my side and all ended up working out. Tuesday afternoon, I read that someone had passed by Spaceland in Silverlake and there was a truck there unloading equipment. Figured WTF, I packed up my desk at work and hit the road around 1:30p.  Within 40 minutes I was out front of this tiny venue and told by staff that we had to leave. They asked how it was that we knew to come to Spaceland and I told them much in thanks to this little diddy that came out bright and early on Monday 2/7. There were five of us there and we discovered that the wristbands for the show would not be distributed at Spaceland, that the location would be divulged via Twitter and would be within a 5 mile radius of where we were at. Ummmm, okay. This is when the chaos, fun and brainstorming began!!  BAM...Five cell phones chirped simultaneously - Twitter alert!!  

Between the group of us, we chose to stick together and pile into one car to see what we could come up with. Those who knew the LA area, plugged "pizza" into their smartphones and we were off.  The first spot that seemed feasible was a place called Two Boots, which is directly next to The Echo, which is directly tied to Spaceland. So that was our first stop. Two from our posse hopped out of the car to inquire on the situation, but the folks at Two Boots honestly seemed stumped. Because we were the first to roll by, there were no other people to interrogate for information, so we thought maybe this spot was too obvious. 


Back into the car and off to pizza place guess #2...which just seem the perfect fit and had to be it: Garage Pizza!! Come on, right? Album #7 was created in Dave's garage, so of course the clue had to be directing us to Garage Pizza!!  It seemed so fitting.  It was still early and we had time to kill, kinda sorta, so we bought a slice and chilled. The guy working the counter would not tell us one way or the other if we were in the right place, but was so insanely cryptic that I personally believed we had nailed it.  10 minutes, 20 minutes, nearly 30 minutes go by. Everyone is calling various contacts to see what could be found out when it happened!!  I got a call from a Foo connection who had driven all the way out from Nevada that morning telling me that the location was indeed Two Boots!!  Holy crap!!   By the time we bolted back, we ended up about 100+ back. It was dizzingly exciting and if it wasn't for being with an awesome group of people that I had pretty much just met, I probably would have been a basket case.

As we waited in line, still waiting on more clues as to what was going on...Twitter alert chirps are heard up and down the street...not just one, not two, not three...but SIX back to back "clues". All photos of the universe...Space!! Spaceland!! But then a 7th Tweet that made us all go "huh"?

"Okay you're listening to umm, Silverlake Pirate Radio, whatever, who cares....tonight at Echoplex umm, Foo Fighters are playing but I'm totally not going cuz they're total corporate sell out dicks and um I don't even care, so, whatever, forget everything I just said...who cares."  Listen Here.

Echoplex??  How is the show going to be at the Echoplex? All their gear is at Spaceland. We pondered it for a bit, but at the same time were just happy that we made it in time to get a wristband!! And then the "ha ha" moment came when as we were handed our wristband, we were also given a note "Psych. See you tonight at Spaceland...."  Oh, Dave. What a prankster you are!!

We made our way back to where we came from and to kill time grabbed a bit of Thai food, then wandered the streets for a bit. Really not too much to see or do in the Silverlake community - at least not in this particular area. But it was cool. We made do. Grabbed a cup of coffee at a little spot across the street from the venue. In walks Shifty. Easily exchanged hellos and pleasantries. I made a comment about how the band certainly found a way to put the secret back into secret show, and he honestly had no clue that there had been a switch-a-roo. Made me realize that the guys in the band really don't need to know what's going on other than where to be and what time. After we said goodbye, I slapped myself upside the head for not offering to buy his coffee order. I owed him from the Hotel Cafe gig he did a few month backs when promoting his Dead Peasants CD...not that he would remember, but he graciously gave me a CD because he wasn't able to break a twenty.


By 7:15 or so, we were allowed to line up in front of Spaceland. Doors were to open at 8p and Scream would be the opener. Wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but at this point just thrilled to be there!!  By the time we got inside, I pretty much lost track of time. Scream hit the stage and while they weren't my cup of tea, it wasn't the worst band I've ever seen. Personally, I would have preferred to see Mariachi el Bronx again...and in actuality, I've been listening to a CD my friend burned for me of their music and LOVE them!  But that wasn't the case tonight.


There isn't anything I can write about what came next that would even do it justice. Set list was: Bridge Burning, Rope, Dear Rosemary, White Limo, Arlandria, These Days, Back and Forth, Matter of Time, Miss the Misery, I should Have Known, Walk...All My Life, Times Like These, Enough Space, Generator, Up in Arms, Big Me, Cold Day in the Sun, Stacked Actors, I'll Stick Around, Learn to Fly, My Hero, Sine and Bones, Monkey Wrench, Hey Johnny Park, Everlong, Aurora, This is a Call.


Here's one review that I found online, for anyone who is looking for an actual review. I will certainly testify to the fact that it was sweaty as all hell in Spaceland that night! The energy was raw, as was the smell. I honestly don't know how those who chose to stand in front of the stage managed to hold out for the entire show. I've never thought of the Foos as a band to mosh to or crowd surf to, but this night was unlike the large venue shows I  had seen before. It was different from the December Paladino's show and even from the first 2011 secret gig in Santa Barbara. It was rough and as  long as I could stay to the sidelines, I liked it.


Nearly 3 hours later, the show ended. Wish I had had the strength to hang out inside the venue but I needed air! Spent a bit of time in front of Spaceland chatting up friends. Saw Kathy Griffin and Ron Jeremy...hell, even saw the "McLovin" kid from Superbad!! After cooling off and wondering how long the ringing in my ears was going to linger, I headed to my car and made my way home.


As I finally finish writing this up, a week has gone by. There had been more rumors of weekend shows. Speculation spreading like wildfire. Leaks via LA Weekly blogs that may or may not have effed things up. Or maybe the guys were burnt out. Add on top of all the madness of the Grammy's and it's anyones guess. But it was a dark weekend and no foo fun was to be found.


BUT...but...but...the Twitter taunts have begun as of tonight - Valentine's Day evening!!  And the boys are "feeling itchy again..." So it's back to one last final WILD FOO CHASE and I'm going to be ready. At least, I sure as hell hope so!

A few photos from Tuesday, 2/8/11- outside the venue. 
Miss Kathy Griffin
Mr. Ron "Hedgehog" Jeremy

Foo Fighters @Velvet Jones in SB 1/28/11

Foo Fighters w/ Mariachi el Bronx

When: Friday, January 28, 2011
Venue: Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara
Accompanied by: Kelly O.
Genre: Rock 


The buzz around town over the past week via Twitter was that the Foo Fighters were itching to perform their new album live in front of an audience. Heck, even The Bronx, who also perform as Mariachi el Bronx, were in on the fun, posting cryptic tweets indicating something big to happen on Friday. To be honest, I did not read between the lines - and completely believed that the only thing happening yesterday was going to be an announcement of a gig that would have everyone clamoring. Boy was I wrong!!  We all knew that we needed to be ready for some sort of surprise to be posted on Twitter, but not a clue as to when. Work being slow and me being bored out of my mind, I was glued to Twitter pretty much the entire morning. 


By lunch time, there was no word. Shortly after, a Tweet was posted asking "you guys ready". Um, yeah! Done been ready!!  And yet, we were back to waiting. 

About 3:00pm, I picked up a message from a friend that it might be in my best interest to head North towards Santa Barbara. I was hesitant because there had been no confirmation of any sort. That's about when the fun began with the "I spy" photos that were being posted by Dave Grohl tweets. By 3:30, I had picked up my partner in crime and we were northbound on the 405, making our way to the 101!!

As we fought the typical LA traffic, and so glad we could make use of the car pool lane, my copilot continuously check Twitter for new clues and messages. We knew without a doubt we were on the right track when we saw the photo of the Big Yellow House sign. And for sure there would be no turning back!  The excitement continued to set in! And the traffic tried its best to kill the mood. But we persevered!! After being on the road for a couple of hours, the creme de la resistance was posted and I felt my foot go heavy on the gas. 


There were moments when we discussed the possibility of getting there and not being able to get in. But we tried to not let those negative thoughts enter our minds. Besides, we had come this far so of course, we were going to get in. And then it happened. We couldn't have been more than 15 minutes away from the venue when we read this tweet 

What?! Are you serious?? I refuse to get upset over this. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town and there are plenty of restaurants...surely, we will make a night of it no matter what. But to be honest, my heart sunk a little. And then I thought about how much it would have sucked to be the person in line at the venue where the number was cut off...can you imagine his or her disappointment? So we just kept on going. And let me tell you, hot damn, I am glad we did!!

TWENTY SIX song set!! The new album, which has yet to be titled, was performed in its entirety and I got to hear it live!!  Hell yes! Don't expect a review here from me...that's not what I do. I leave that to the professionals - so if you want to read a great review of the evening, please read this awesome article from the amazing Johnny Firecloud. My opinion of the new album is this - you won't be disappointed. We will find no "Wheels" or "Word Forward" songs on this album. And as much as I love ESP&G, this album pretty much rawks all the way through from start to finish. 


As for The Bronx/Mariachi el Bronx - I had never seen them before, but was familiar with the Mariachi alter ego. Mi amiga is a big fan and this band was the reason she joined me on this venture. I have to say, they freakin' kicked ass and I definitely want to see them again. The downside is that we had to view MeB from outside because we didn't have the golden ticket/wristband. But the door was open and the sound was loud, so we caught a fairly decent show. And of course, we had their last CD playing on the drive up and back, so I got my fair share.


Overall, a memorable adventure. Of course, during the show, Dave eluded to more shows to follow soon by saying "see you next week". But that is speculation...or is it? All I know is I have my Twitter settings geared up to automatically text me when certain you-know-who's tweet and/or send me direct messages!! Next time, and there will be a next time, I plan on being within the first dozen in line and shall suffer no more mishaps!!


oh, and they allowed phones in to this venue...so you know what that means!? A lot of cell phone videos on youtube! Enjoy!

First gig of 2011

Thirty Seconds to Mars/Middle Class Rut
When: Friday, January 14, 2011
Venue: Fox Theater, Pomona
Accompanied by: Solo gig
Genre: Alt Rock


So, Friday I took myself out to see my first music concert of 2011. Well actually, that's not entirely true. I did go out last week to Largo in LA to see Tim Minchin perform and while it was a "comedy" show,  his musical talent was mesmerizing. In fact, I should add that to my blog entries and I definitely will. But the show I caught this past Friday was pieces of good and bits of bad. 

As for Thirty Seconds to Mars, I've liked their radio play for quite some time. I picked up the 3rd album This is War back in December based off two songs "Kings and Queens" and the title song. But had also downloaded a few songs from the 2nd album A Beautiful Lie. But I couldn't say I was a big fan. I knew just enough of their music to know I wanted to see them in concert. Glad I did but most likely would not do it again.


The gist of it is that when I showed up at the Fox Theater I was skeptical at what sort of night it was going to be. I'm 42 years old and the average age at this show had to be under 20. This isn't to say it's a bad thing, but it felt about as close to what I imagine it must be like to go to a Jonas Brothers or that Beiber boob show...okay, so maybe the crowd wasn't THAT young.


Within the first few minutes of the opening song, I thought maybe I really had made a mistake in attending this show. But I kept an open mind and reminded myself that there were a handful of songs that I did want to hear. I'm glad I didn't bail because by the end of it all, I was impressed. Impressed with the band but more so with the fans. The energy never wavered and the dedication to knowing the music and lyrics was obvious. Granted, part of that energy lent to some of the "bad" but that's just me being old and not wanting to get pushed around or have screaming vocals in my ear.  What's ironic is that it used to be me who was the screaming fan annoying the crap out of whoever got stuck in front of me.  What goes around comes around.


Jared Leto took it upon himself to call out anyone he thought was not exuding enough energy. At one point, he stopped the show and had the lights turned on in the balcony to single out specific individuals. I'm not sure how effective it was but it certainly got the crowd in a frenzy. And I thought it was funny...as long as he didn't call me out, we were golden. Looking at the set list, I knew 5 out of 17 songs. Chances are, that is probably all I will ever know. And I'm okay with that.

TSTM encore of "Kings and Queens" was fantastic. And when 30+ fans were pulled out of the crowd to join the band on stage, I could only imagine the excitement going on down on the floor. It was pretty cool to witness.

The upside, as far as I was concerned, fell at the first part of the evening with the opening band, Middle Class Rut. I had the opportunity to see these 2 guys a few times when they opened for Them Crooked Vultures in LA and Las Vegas last year. And they did not disappoint with opening for TSTM. When I listen to MCR, I hear a tinge of Jane's Addiction. Some may not agree. But it's my opinion and I'll stick to it. All in all, making the drive out to Pomona on a Friday night was justified based on MCR alone. But at the end of the night, I was glad that I stuck around for the entire show.

2010 Musical Mischief

Tai's 2010 Musical Mischief
I'm fairly certain this is most everything....but there is a chance that I may have overlooked a gig or two...


JAN '10

• mmmm, nothing?

FEB '10

• Chris Shiflett Acoustic w/ Audra Mae (and Adam Bones) @ Alex's Bar in the LBC

MAR '10

• 3/11/10 Chris Shiflett - Democratic Disillusionment (talk), Brave New Studios
• 3/11/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ The Viper Room, LA - was suppose to be the CD Release, but Taylor was a no show. However, we stuck around and were pleasantly surprised when Dave & Rami appeared and good times were had by all!!

APR '10

• 4/09/10 That Metal Show, Glendale taping (Big Thanks to Nicole for making this happen...two separate tapings with Zakk Wyld followed by Steven Adler)
• 4/12/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ Kimmel Live
• 4/14/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ Club Nokia
• 4/17/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ The Joint, Las Vegas
• 4/19/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Casbah
• 4/20/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Troubadour
• 4/22/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Kimmel Live

MAY '10

• 5/07/10 Bring the Rock w/ Josh Homme @ Largo

JUNE '10

• 6/10/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ The Bootleg Theater, LA
• 6/11/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Alex's in the LBC
• 6/12/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Hensley's Flying Elephant Pub, Carlsbad

JULY '10

• 7/7/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Hotel Cafe, LA
• 7/20/10 James Taylor & Carole King @ The Pond, Anaheim

AUG '10

• 8/06/10 Styx @ the Orange County Fair
• 8/11/10 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts @ the Orange County Fair
• 8/12/10 Eagles of Death Metal/Queens of the Stone Age Benefit Show @ Club Nokia
• 8/21/10 Billy Idol @ The Palms, Las Vegas

SEPT '10

• 9/24/10 LA Galaxy v NY Red Bulls - sure it's not a concert, but it was my first soccer game and I loved it! So much so that I am now a 2010 season ticket holder!!
• 9/26/10 Muse @ Staples, LA

OCT '10

• 10/23/10 Bridge Benefit Concert @ Shoreline Amphitheater, Mt. View
• 10/24/10 Bridge Benefit Concert @ Shoreline Amphitheater, Mt. View
• 10/27/10 A Perfect Circle @ Kimmel Live (kinda sorta, we had to make do from street view)
• 10/29/10 Stone Temple Pilots @ Nokia, LA
• 10/29/10 Dimebash 2010 @ Key Club, LA

NOV '10

• 11/10/10 A Perfect Circle @ Avalon, LA
• 11/11/10 Face to Face @ HOB, Anaheim
• 11/12/10 Starpool @ DiPiazzas, Long Beach
• 11/20/10 Kyle Eastwood Band @ The Music Institute, LA
• 11/22/10 An Evening with Stewart Copeland, The Grammy Museum
• 11/26/10 Weezer @ Gibson Amphitheater, LA
• 11/30/10 Faith No More @ The Palladium, LA

DEC '10

• 12/01/10 Faith No More @ The Palladium, LA
• 12/07/10 Roger Waters The Wall @ HP Pavilion, San Jose
• 12/10/10 Camp Freddy Night #2 @ The Roxy, LA
• 12/17/10 Camp Freddy Night #3 @ The Roxy, LA
• 12/21/10 Foo Fighters "Secret" Show @ Paladinos, Tarzana

Kinda sorta proof of the other night...

So, if  you read my last entry, you know I had the opportunity to attend a "secret" Foo Fighters gig a few nights ago. The rules were that NO cell phones, NO cameras, NO recording equipment, etc.  Well, I'm guessing that maybe there is some bootleg audio out there somewhere, but I have no clue where. And chances are there are photos as well...but I was not privy to such escapades. HOWEVER, after the show had ended, an acquaintance / friend / connection from the FFPB, Michael had found a way to have his picture taken w/ Krist Noveselic...and while this was completely unintentional, I managed to find myself in the photo as well...kinda sorta. 


Judge for yourself...unintentional photo bomb?

Foo Fighters "Secret" Show at Paladinos - 12/21/10

Foo Fighters - Secret Show
When: Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Venue: Paladinos in Tarzana, CA
Accompanied by: Cosmo & Tiffany
Genre: Rock n Roll


There had been speculation among Foo fans that the members of the Foo Fighters might announce a secret show before the end of the year somewhere in LA. So when I saw an announcement on Facebook from the Foo Fighters indicating that exciting news would be revealed on Monday, 12/20 and to "stay tuned", I was glued to my computer all day long!  It was a matter of chance. Send an email and wait. Those chosen would be notified on Tuesday before 2pm with then make their way to the "secret" location....More waiting.  Lots of wondering how many will be chosen. Will it be me. Oh, please, let it be me!


Phone rang at 12:40pm. I nearly lost my mind and tried to play it cool. I'm sure, Kristen from the Foo camp knew otherwise. We chatted a bit, she gave me all the details and assured me that an email would also be sent with everything we discussed.  Sure enough, this is the only "proof" that I  have (well before the show, anyways....)

We made out way out to the venue a little after 5pm. Weather reports had us destined for heavy rain, so we weren't quite sure how bad traffic would be. Surprisingly, we made it there before 7pm. Thought for sure there'd be a hefty line, but again, surprisingly light. Shifty was hanging by the side door chatting w/ Cosmo. I walked over not expecting him to recognize me, but received a happy hello and an obligatory pat on the back. I'm not saying he knows who I am, but it was a nice feeling all the same.


We walked inside and the front of the stage was relatively wide open. And hell, momma didn't raise no fool, so we planted roots center stage and held tight. Two hours until show time. More waiting, but at least this time there was plenty to look at and observe. There was a buzz through the crowd that Ryan Phillippe was in the house, but all I managed to catch glimpse of was Ralph Garman from KROQ.  Didn't matter, because who I wanted to see was going to be directly in front of us.  There was a set list within view as we stood waiting. I automatically started to count the number of songs we were in store for.... TWENTY ONE on the list!! TWENTY ONE!! I kicked myself for not bringing a pen (later really kicking myself for not having a damn sharpie) because I knew there was no way I'd be able to remember what songs were played.


By 9pm, we were ready. By 9:15, we were still ready. They didn't make us wait too much longer, but long enough. Bring on the rock!! And so they did! Old stuff, older stuff, new stuff, stuff not on the list, and didn't play 2 of the songs that were on the list...

1. Times Like These (One by One, 2002)
2. Generator (TINLTL, 1999)
3. My Hero (TCATS, 1997)
4. Pretender (ESP&G, 2007)
5. Back and Forth (new)
6. Learn to Fly (TINLTL, 1999)
7. White Limo (new)
8. For All the Cows (Foo Fighters, 1995)
9. Enough Space (TCATS, 1997)
10. Rosemary (new)
11. Skin and Bones (Skin and Bones, 2006)
12. Cold Day (In Your Honor, 2005)
13. Long Road to Ruin (ESP&G, 2007; not on list but performed)
14. These Days (new)
15. Best of You (In Your Honor, 2005)
16. Everlong (TCATS, 1997)
17. Monkeywrench (TCATS, 1997)
18. All My Life (One by One, 2002)
19. Marigold (Pocketwatch, 1992)
20. This is a Call (Foo Fighters, 1995)

Keep in mind, center stage here! Just a few feet away from Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Jessy Greene, and Drew Hester. But what was truly mesmerizing was being less than 3 or 4 feet away from Dave Grohl as he tossed his glorious mane around while rocking out.  For nearly 2 or so hours! There was minimal story telling or banter between songs, which kept a consistent flow throughout the night. There were crews of cameramen on every side and two or three photographers snapping away.


There were times I couldn't help but close my eyes. I could feel the music bouncing off my skin. I was immersed in loudness and it was delicious. It reminded me of back in high school, sitting in my then boyfriend's garage watching his band practice.  The louder, the better! Didn't want the night to end but couldn't wait to hear the next song. A definite catch-22.  


One of the final songs at the end of the night allowed an experience that I'm sure was emotional for many. I won't deny, I was not a big Nirvana fan. When they were in heavy rotation, I was in college and in to hip hop. But watching Krist Noveselic take the stage with Pat Smear and Dave Grohl as they performed the song, Marigold was hypnotic.


Since we weren't allowed to have cell phones, I have absolutely no idea what time the show ended. But it didn't matter. Even after the show was over, the night had just begun!  I can't describe it all, so I'm just going to snippet the highlights of what's in my memory:

• Having the opportunity to talk to Juliette Lewis and tell her how much she rocked at Camp Freddy the past 2 Fridays.
• Seeing Scott Shiflett's purple mohawk live and in person, knowing that it was inspired by my friend, Lara.
• In the middle of a monster coughing fit, being asked if I was okay only to turn around and slowly realize that it was Josh Homme doing the asking. Looking like a deer in headlights, and everything going in slow motion, I managed to get out a single "oh" as I reached my arms out in need of a hug. He sweetly obliged and I immediately felt like an idiot. But I wasn't coughing anymore, so his hugs must be magic.
• Walking up to Cosmo, Lisa and Tiffany as they were chatting up Dave, with cameras all around, and Tiffany hands me the set list signed by Dave. *me: smiles bigger than the cheshire cat* 
• Borrowing a sharpie, took the set list and obtained Chris, Taylor, and Nate and Jessy's signatures as well. Sadly, didn't see Pat around much after the show.
• Asking Tiffany to see if Krist Noveselic to sign the set list, in which he penned right next to Marigold!
• Being able to talk w/ Krist for a hot second and tell him how much I liked his crush red velvet shirt as I reached out to "pet' it. He told me his wife made it for him. Damn that man is tall. And don't let me get started on the size of his feet. Crazy big!

By this point, we are finally being told that it's time for us to leave. For the most part, all that is left is the band and their family and friends. Along with crew and club staff. So, we made our way out the door and to the car.  Of course, reliving the entire night as we made the long trip home.  

What a night, what a night, what a night. And yes, I do realize how lucky I am to have been there. I completely understand that it was by grace and chance that I was chosen. I don't know how or why. I am no more deserving than any other fan. Luck? Karma? Kismet? Mine is not to question. Mine is to go and enjoy. And I did! 

Big thanks to Cosmo and Tiffany for making the night extra special! And thrilled that I was able to share the evening with Sarah, Michael, and Nicole. 


2007 Paladinos "secret" Foo gig...