Foo Fighters Get Instrospective

iThe Foo Fighters are the kind of band who appeal to just about everybody, which explains why tickets for Wednesday's special acoustic gig at the Hummingbird Centre sold out in a matter of minutes. Fans confessed to paying upwards of $300 for seats in the balcony, not to mention the outrageous scalper prices, so expectations were high.

Frank Black got things off to a modest start by humbly walking in front of the stage's large blue curtain, waving to the audience, muttering about which chord to start on and kicking into "Los Angeles."

Black put on an impressive set, especially considering it was entirely comprised of him standing still with an acoustic guitar, with nary a pause between songs. The Pixie played to a half-capacity audience, but they all cheered wildly when they heard the chords for "Where Is My Mind." Inviting the Foos' guest keyboardist Rami Jaffee to play accordion, Black closed with the haunting "Manitoba" and walked discreetly off the stage.

I've seen the Foo Fighters a number of times before, and each time they prove to be a thoroughly entertaining live act. When Dave Grohl walked onstage by himself, greeting the audience with a quiet "hey" instead of his customary introductory wail, it seemed the band's set would follow Black's low-key demeanour.

After the band joined him to flesh out the end of "Razor," they performed a breathtaking rendition of "Over And Out," In Your Honor's strongest acoustic track. Of course, Grohl is as capable of sitting still and keeping quiet as his fans are of not screaming their lungs out, and the grinning frontman started bantering with the audience as soon as the song finished.

The set was filled with new and old songs. It focused heavily on the acoustic side of In Your Honor, but instead of going the easy route and simply playing unplugged versions of their hits, the band played live rarities that suited the intimate environment. The most unexpected was Nirvana B-side "Marigold," which marked one of the few times Grohl has ever played a Nirvana song with the Foo Fighters.

The Hummingbird's pristine sound was fully utilized by the band, largely due to the extra musicians accompanying them. Ex-Foo/Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, ex-Wallflower Jaffee, violinist Petra Haden and percussionist Drew Hester gave new depth to classic Foo tracks. Haden sang lead on "Floaty" and Hester added some hilarious cowbell to "See You." Drummer Taylor Hawkins also got to sing "Cold Day In The Sun," which he wrote and performed on In Your Honor.

Grohl, however, isn't one to be upstaged. His conversations with various audience members were some of the best moments of the night. The guy is one of the biggest stars in rock music, but he still sat and joked with whoever heckled him while snickering with the rest of the band. He wore a goofy grin on his bearded face for the majority of the set, making an already intimate show that much more personal.

Things got moderately serious when he told a story about a lucky encounter with Iggy Pop in Toronto while on tour with his former band Scream in 1990. That led to a story about how he first met Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, the subjects of "Friend Of A Friend," the first song Grohl ever wrote. You can pay hundreds of dollars for a high profile concert, but introspective tales of rock 'n' roll history are priceless.