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One by one the punters arrived, each dwarfed by the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House. Their sense of excitement at seeing the Foo Fighters in an intimate acoustic performance was palpable. I camped out all night in a violent storm for tickets, so you can imagine how eagerly I'd awaited it.
On entering the Concert Hall there was no escaping the crowd: the Foo Fighters and their guests were packed into every corner. The demographic was interesting, with females represented predominantly by ladies in their twenties, whilst males ranged from teen-school boys to business men approaching or exceeding their fifties.
On stage, the usual Foo Fighters lineup, led by Dave Grohl, was joined by "percussionist extraordinaire" Drew Hester; Rami Jaffee on piano, keyboard, and accordion; Petra Haden on violin, tambourine, and vocals; and former Nirvana (and Germs, for those who remember that far back) guitarist Pat Smear, around whom a great deal of interest in tonight's show centered.
Obviously, as an acoustic show, this was a more subdued affair than a normal Foo Fighter's shin-dig, but I still found it more entertaining than any previous concert by the band. Grohl was very interactive and responsive as he introduced and explained the meaning the songs. While this might sound boring on paper, these intros often resulted in hilarious outbursts. Shy Hayden giggled throughout the night, and, at one point, Grohl tried to capture official Foo Taylor Hawkins' eye to say, "I love you!"
There were two other potentially embarrassing moments. Haden, on vocals for "Marigold," failed to hold the last note long enough because Grohl kept acting up and making her laugh. Later on, as though struck by instant karma, Grohl managed to launch into lyrics from the wrong song.
I'm convinced that many in the crowd were expecting something hushed -- along the lines of Nirvana Unplugged -- but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the set was quite loud. The percussion, violin, and piano complimented the arrangements and blended nicely as Hawkins pounded away on the drums. Many of the songs began with just Grohl on vocals and acoustic guitar accompanied by either piano or percussion for the first verse, followed by everyone else joining in to flesh out the chorus.
After a short break, Grohl and Co. returned for the obligatory encore, making reference as they did to two other special guests also at the show. Two miners were present who had been trapped in a shaft in Beaconsfield for two weeks. One of them had requested an iPod loaded with Foo Fighters music to keep entertained while awaiting rescue. For this reason, Grohl announced that these guys would receive tickets to any Foo Fighters show they wanted, and, better still, that he would meet up with them later for a beer. With these guests in mind, Grohl sat alone on stage with his acoustic guitar and played, for the first time, something he had written in his hotel room the night before: "A Ballad for the Beaconsfield Miners".
Not only was the band more subdued, but the crowd was surprisingly quiet as well. Only once, during "Best of You," the fans sing along, and this was only after being prompted by Grohl. Most people seemed content to sit quietly, absorb the music, and admire the artists, rather than struggle to climb over the person in front to hear themselves scream, as is the norm at most other concerts. There was a mass of applause after each song, standing ovations aplenty, and a surprising amount of laughter -- but overall, this was exactly what was a promised: a pretty relaxed experience in an incredibly intimate setting.
— 18 October 2006
