When Taylor Hawkins unexpectedly died last year, there were many Foo Fighters fans who believed it would be the end of the band. The drummer was such a force, and an integral part of the group on stage and off, that their three decade, 10 album legacy looked like it might be set in stone. But when all-round-nice-guy Dave Grohl ended a series of tribute concerts with a "see you soon", there was a glimmer of hope.
With the aptly titled 'But Here We Are', that glimmer becomes a fireworks display. These 10 songs equate to an emotionally raw 48 minutes that incorporate almost every facet of their sound to date, from the punk-tinged grunge of their formative years to the stadium-sized ballads that have seen the Foos cement themselves as one of the world’s foremost rock bands.
Lead single Rescued revealed that this album would be all about moving on, and throughout we hear the five stages of grief loud and clear, from the denial all over Under You and anger at the passage of time on Beyond Me through to the bargaining of Show Me How and the depression that lurks in the experimental expanses of The Teacher, a swerve into a parallel lane of grief as Grohl salutes his late mother, Virginia.
Completing the journey through to acceptance, tear-jerking closer Rest caps Grohl’s year of musical therapy. Emotionally brutal in its stripped back, acoustic simplicity, it swells to a crackling cacophony before a devastating final couplet: “Waking up, had another dream of us / In the warm Virginia sun, there I will meet you.”
The question now becomes how ‘But Here We Are’ lives on beyond its touring cycle. While Nothing At All and the title track possess a lot of the power that makes a crucial Foo Fighters live cut, whether or not they become fan favourites is up in the air when compared to old stagers Monkey Wrench, The Pretender or Best Of You.
They say write what you know and, tragically, Grohl and Foo Fighters have come to know anguish all too well. Their response is their most cohesive and complete album since 2011’s 'Wasting Light’. The band have lost plenty, but they’ve found strength and resilience in the yawning spaces left behind.
Foo Fighters Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed June 14 2023 - ROGERS Arkansas - Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion - (AMP) (USA)
Fri June 16 2023 - BIRMINGHAM AL Alabama - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre (USA)
Sun June 18 2023 - MANCHESTER TN Tennessee - Great Stage Park (USA)
Sat July 08 2023 - QUEBEC CITY Quebec - Plains Of Abraham (Canada)
Wed July 12 2023 - OTTAWA Ontario - Lebreton Flats (Canada)
Sat July 15 2023 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - Veterans Park (USA)
Fri August 04 2023 - SPOKANE Washington - Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (USA)
Tue August 08 2023 - SALT LAKE CITY Utah - USANA Amphitheatre (USA)
Thu August 10 2023 - STATELINE Nevada - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys Lake Tahoe - Complex (USA)
Sun September 17 2023 - ASBURY PARK New Jersey - Asbury Park (USA)
Tue September 19 2023 - VIRGINIA BEACH Virginia - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach (USA)
Thu September 21 2023 - KENTUCKY Kentucky - Exposition Center (USA)
Sun October 01 2023 - DANA POINT California - Doheny State Beach (USA)
Tue October 03 2023 - PHOENIX Arizona - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (formerly Ak-Chin Pavilion) (USA)
Thu October 05 2023 - EL PASO Texas - Don Haskins Center (USA)
Wed November 29 2023 - PERTH HBF Park
Sat December 02 2023 - ADELAIDE Coopers Stadium
Mon December 04 2023 - MELBOURNE AAMI Park
Sat December 09 2023 - SYDNEY Accor Stadium
Tue December 12 2023 - BRISBANE Suncorp Stadium
Sat January 20 2024 - AUCKLAND Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart
Wed January 24 2024 - CHRISTCHURCH Orangetheory Stadium
Sat January 27 2024 - WELLINGTON Sky Stadium
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