From the moment the broadcast beamed out of the Ed Sullivan Theater and onto our monitors, it was clear Foo Fighters were out to do more than just perform a few songs in passing: they were here to make a statement.
Decked out in ’60s-style Beatles suits with a retro backdrop, and broadcast in glorious black and white, Dave and the boys harkened back to the Fab Four’s legendary Ed Sullivan Show performance (not to mention Nirvana‘s video for “In Bloom”), timelessly bridging the history of the legendary stage with the modern technology pumping their performance onto our computer screens, ‘Droids, iPhones, and iPads.
The band even did their best to stand in place and bop in a very controlled, early ’60s fashion. But of course, suits and all, these guys couldn’t be contained by the starch of early rock ‘n’ roll, and they thrashed as they belted out “Bridge Burning,” “Rope,” and “Dear Rosemary. “
Foo Fighters Live on Letterman (John Paul Filo/CBS)
It’s probably too early to say whether “White Limo” is a clear favorite off the new album, or if it was that Foo Fighters truly hit their stride four tracks deep into the set. But the band and the fans flew into a furious fit for this banging rocker. Towing the album line, the Foos rocked straight into “Arlandria,” which is clearly in competition with “White Limo” as a fan favorite. Even MTV legend Matt Pinfield was banging along in the front row.
Foo Fighters Live on Letterman (John Paul Filo/CBS)
Foo Fighters continued to beat out new classic after new classic as they rounded out the track listing for Wasting Light in perfect order. Then, just as they finished the final cut off the album, “Walk,” and the crowd assumed the show must be over, Foo Fighters launched into an assault of their greatest hits. The webcast itself also changed course, leaping from vintage-y black and white into a Technicolor splash as the band rocked out favorites like “All My Life” and “Times Like These.” Grohl even dedicated “My Hero” to David Letterman.
Foo Fighters Live on Letterman (Photo CBS)
Following “Learn to Fly,” Dave handed the rains over to Taylor, who joked that “this isn’t ‘Octopus’ Garden’ or ‘Help from my Friends’” as he took over vocals on “Cold Day in the Sun.” After a brief vocal break, Grohl took control back to rock out classics “Big Me,” “Stacked Actors,” “Monkey Wrench,” “Everlong,” “Best of You,” and “This Is a Call.”
Foo Fighters Live on Letterman (John Paul Filo/CBS)
The crowd in the theater was rapt with rock ‘n’ roll the entire set, as the longest Live on Letterman show ever (nearly two hours!) swept by and felt like it was done as soon as it started.
But it wasn’t just the crowd in the building that loved it, Foo fans around the world rocked along at home, and tweeted out their love for the band.
Take a look at this:
- Bridge Burning
- Rope
- Dear Rosemary
- White Limo
- Arlandria
- These Days
- Back & Forth
- A Matter Of Time
- Miss The Misery
- I Should Have Known
- Walk
- All my life
- Times like these
- My hero
- Learn to Fly
- Cold Day in the Sun
- Big Me
- Stacked Actors
- Monkey Wrench
- Everlong
- Best of You
- This is a Call
Click here to watch the show on demand!