Breakout: Foo Fighters rock Geelong as concerts return

ABOVE: Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl and Rami Jaffee. Photo: BRETT SCHEWITZ/FRONTIER

FOO Fighters has made a triumphant return to Australia in their first gig here in four years, with about 30,000 fans rocking out in Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium’s debut as a concert venue.

Last Friday’s sold-out event was the nation’s first full-capacity stadium show by any international music artist since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Drummer Taylor Hawkins in full flight – the photo on Hawkins’ drumkit is of Australian music promoter Michael Gudinski, who died almost exactly a year ago – and bassist Nate Mendel. Photo: BRETT SCHEWITZ/FRONTIER

Foo Fighters made the most of the slightly rainy conditions, playing for nearly three hours and having the crowd roaring for more after every tune.

“It’s been a long time,” frontman Dave Grohl said, three songs in. “Do you miss rock and roll? Do you love rock and roll?”

Friday’s gig at GMHBA Stadium drew a crowd of about 30,000 people. Photo: RICK CLIFFORD/FRONTIER

Opening with “Times Like These”, the US band’s set stretched the breadth of their 27-year career, taking a song or two from almost all their studio albums and had everything from the Foos’ first single “This is a Call” and Medicine at Midnight cut “No Son of Mine” to enormous hits “Best of You” and “The Pretender” and a cover of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing”.

Before closing with “Everlong”, Grohl said the band would return in November for a fully-fledged Australian tour.

“Thank you very much for coming out to the show tonight. We should do it more often, right?”