Foo Fighters 20th Anniversary Independence Day Blowout

Once in a while, there is a show we will travel a great distance to experience. As soon as we saw that Dave Grohl was curating a 4th of July extravaganza at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. (Grohl’s hometown), we knew we had to be a part of the festivities. With a lineup to rival a summer festival, we packed our bags for a day of music, monsoons, and mud. We’ll get to the Foo Fighters in a moment but the show can be summed up easily: Never miss an opening act.

The show had it all- alternative, classic rock, jazz, rap, and bands that mixed all of the above. The show also featured an unexpected addition to the lineup: Pool Party! An hour long rain/lightning delay caused the field in spots to become a wading pool for remainder of day. A very cool stage setup featuring a revolving turntable meant that there was no waiting for the roadies in between sets – may acts kept playing as they rotated around, fading into the next band seamlessly.

The lineup, while it could appear all over the musical map, was a carefully curated collection of bands all sharing the commonality of being featured in the Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways series.

The Openers

RDGLDGRN (Pronounced Red Gold Green)
We had no idea what to expect from these guys, but they had the crowd bouncing right off the bat. DC area favorites, the trio plus a drummer mixed hip hop, rock, and a bit of Go Go to bring the legendary DC sound to a new generation. A great addition by Grohl.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Trombone Shorty got his name because he had been playing since the trombone was taller than him. This guy blows… a mean horn! A great mix of New Orleans Jazz and modern rock styling, the crowd went nuts when he launched into a cover of Green Day’s “Brain Stew”

 

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
We love rock and roll! This girl still rocks hard. Playing a setlist nearly identical to her opener for The Who on tour now, she stuck to the hits like “Bad Reputation,”  “Cherry Bomb,” and “Crimson and Clover” before ending the set 10 minutes early on “I Love Rock & Roll.”

 

At this point in the day, a man with a microphone approaches the stage to interrupt the nearly 2 hours of nonstop music. He instructs everyone in the stadium to immediately seek shelter due to incoming lightning activity. As we found out after the show, RFK Stadium has had a bad history with lightning where a patron was struck during a show several years ago.
Despite best efforts of the security team, they were only able to clear the field, as concertgoers hung in the stadium aisles to be the first back on the GA field. After about an hour, we were allowed to return to a flooded field. No announcement of new set times was made, though after the show we saw the 9:30 Club (the show’s promoter) posted this information. Cell data coverage was terrible in the stadium, and most people just set their phones to airplane mode.

Gary Clark Jr.
“He’s changing guitars because he played every last note out of that one” exclaimed someone in the crowd but it couldn’t have better described Clark. His Texas roots are present with a blues rock sound that has traces of Stevie/Jimmie Vaughn all over it. This guy is one to see in either a small rock club or opening for the Foo Fighter’s ampitheater shows the remainder of their US tour.

Heart
Strutting down the extended catwalk, Ann Wilson is looking and sounding great! The Seattle-based rock and roll sisters stuck mainly to the classics, holding off on the slower ballads until the second half of their set. They appeared to be the most affected set time by the rain delay, as they exited the stage fairly suddenly at the end of their set rather than riding the turntable around.

Buddy Guy
A living legend! Buddy is still kicking it and having fun playing the blues. Listen to his lyrics for some very funny and sometimes raunchy double entendres. He kept the energy high, pulling off as many tricks with the guitar as some hair bands of the 80s did. He also brought out a special guest, 16 year old Quinn Sullivan, who proves that the blues will never die with the legends. Sullivan has more talent in his pinky he uses to hit the D string than all other 16 year old pop stars combined.

LLCoolJ
“This guy is a rapper?” asked a 20 year old kid near me when LL took the stage. His set was by far the shortest, but he gave it his all. We honestly couldn’t name one track by the artist, but by the end of the set, we were “Goin back to Cali… to Cali.. to Cali.”

Trouble Funk
We admit, we aren’t huge fans of the Go Go style, but DC’s favorite band brought the funk and amped the crowd up for the Foos. Their synchronized grooves had concertgoers young and old bouncing to the beat for almost an hour.

 

The Main Event

Foo Fighters

The stage side screens displayed an extended review of the Sonic Highways series while roadies set up the Foo Fighters more elaborate stage setup. A large FF banner covered the stage. The crowd, once a collection of soaking wet, hungry, and inebriated individuals, now came together in anticipation of the main event.

 

“Everlong” opened the set, where we saw Grohl, purple leg cast and all, propped up in a custom built throne, rocking out as hard as he can. Followed by “Monkey Wrench” and “Learn to Fly,” it was an energetic triple header to kick off the set.

The night was filled with stories – some in between songs, some during the breakdowns (and perhaps sometimes borderline too much talking) from him replaying the events of breaking his leg to how he lost battle of the bands at his high school. It was a night of nostalgia that saw the Foos play some tracks off their debut album, as well as a cover of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure“. “We are the most expensive cover band, who wants to hear some more?” Grohl asked the audience.

For fans it is not just the band’s music, which at its core is fairly basic rock, it’s Grohl’s ability to connect with the fans as if he a best friend sharing a beer. Never mind the 40,000 other people. To demonstrate his humility, he departed his throne and hobbled on crutches to the end of the catwalk to sing an acoustic version of “My Hero.” He brought his mother on stage, who was a school teacher at many DC area high schools – of which concertgoers had likely attended.

As the band took their final bows following a marathon sing-a-long session to “The Best of You”, Hendrix’s national anthem rendition blasted from the sound system as fireworks closed out the night just minutes midnight. If there was one thing missing it would be Grohl and/or any of the day’s talented guitarists playing the anthem live to cap the day.

RFK Stadium, while perhaps special for Grohl and residents, is in rough shape with limited amenities. And they were under prepared for the show running out of food and drinks throughout the day, All vendors aside from some merch booths were cash only, with limited ATMs leading to very long lines. While Grohl mentioned he would like to do it again next year, hopefully a change in venue will allow fans to enjoy the day even more.

Spending the 4th of July with 40,000 friends (including the one on the throne) in our nation’s capitol rocking out to gold old American rock and roll was an experience we wont forget all our lives.