At the height of an unprecedented June heatwave, breaking into as much as a brisk stroll is likely to have you pouring sweat. Last night in Liverpool, Dave Grohl seemed unperturbed. He did not so much take the stage as run at it at full pelt.
He led his band out in front of their first UK stadium crowd since 2024 by tearing into “All My Life”, which is Foo Fighters at their best – a furious garage rock anthem that sounds as if it has found its way into vast arenas like this by accident. This is their first headline show in Liverpool since 1997; they are the latest major American act, over the course of three successive summers, to play at Anfield, joining the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey. (This might look like a fond nod to the city’s musical heritage but probably has more to do with Manchester’s Etihad Stadium having been under renovation during the same period.)
Pyrotechnics light up Anfield – these songs are built for stadiums (Photo: Andi K Taylor)
Grohl himself, meanwhile, is on a one-man redemption mission. His widely accepted status as the nicest man in rock was cast asunder in September of 2024, when it emerged that an extramarital affair had produced a child, his fourth. He started out last night like somebody determined to have us forget about the cloud of scandal that’s been hovering over him, and which has led to Foo Fighters withdrawing from live tours for the past couple of years. The opening hour of this epic show seemed like an intense attempt to make up for lost time, comprising a slew of the kind of towering anthems that justify the band’s longstanding affinity with stadiums of this size. “The Pretender”, and its roaring chorus, soared, as did “Times Like These”, along with the handsome, ruminative likes of “My Hero” and “These Days”.
