teng time

The Foo Fighters show at the Hard Rock Hotel was the main attraction of my mini Las Vegas vacation this past weekend. I planned my trip around it, and would have done almost anything to make it happen. If I had done nothing else but go to this show during my 4 days in Vegas, I would still be content. FF is no doubt my greatest irrational obsession.

FF played Thursday and Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel, but I went to the Friday night show. Both nights were sold out. I was thrilled that the venue was small, with a capacity of about 1,400.  Adding to the excitement was the recent announcement that FF would be taking a long break, meaning this would be the last show I could see for a while.  I was hoping for something like 2003’s secret show at Las Vegas House of Blues.  Nostalgia for the old days if you will.  The last time I saw FF was this May at The Forum which holds a ridiculous 18,000 (according to wikipedia).

This was again a very different show experience for me than the brace yourself craziness that I’m used to.  It was the tamest crowd I’ve seen at an FF show probably because people there were generally older.  They were also the nicest fans I’ve encountered for a while which was a breath of fresh air.  But still, I miss that intensity of the crowd even if it comes with bumps and bruises.  To me it somehow completes the whole experience.  It becomes both mental and physical, which relates to the correlations between religious and concert experiences that are often made.  The crowd is just as important as the live music at a show.  The interconnectedness between people for something you feel is larger than yourself is what keeps me coming back whether it’s a show at The Forum or the Troubadour.  How amorphous and irrational…

Of course FF and Dave did not disappoint despite a tamer crowd.  Highlight of the show was Aurora and New Way Home which I haven’t heard live in several years.  I was was able to catch Taylor before the show for a photo.  My friend also caught a used but fully intact drumstick after the show and gave it to me.  That’s really the best memento I could have gotten since it was a part of that show.

With the grip still partially on the drumstick…

Here are some of my shots from the night.  Click here to view the full album (you’ll have to wait until I fully complete my upgrade to Wordpress 2.7 plus enhancements – coming very soon).