Photos + Review: Foo Fighters, The Struts, The Beaches @ Rogers Centre

Photos by: Brendan Albert –

Review by: Curtis Sindrey –
Follow @Aesthetic_Mag

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

Foo Fighters brought their rock and roll circus to Toronto’s Rogers Centre last night in support of their ninth studio album, Concrete and Gold (out now via RCA/Roswell).

“You’re all here because you love rock and roll”, said frontman Dave Grohl early on in the 23-song set that included a song from nearly every album in the Grammy-winning band’s discography including “Learn To Fly”, “Best Of You”,  “Everlong”, and new tracks “Run”, and “The Sky is a Neighbourhood”.

For a band who has been “coming to [Toronto] for 23 fucking years”, according to Grohl, they never fail to go hard for more than two hours with an intense barrage of guitar solos, drum solos, and a middle-of-the-set medley featuring snippets of classic rock songs by Ramones, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, and Queen, including an energetic rendition of “Under Pressure” with The Struts frontman Luke Spiller.

In a memorable moment during a lengthy set that went well past 11pm, Grohl gave fans a type of doctors note when they go into work tomorrow, saying “call into work tomorrow and say that you’re good friend Dave Grohl said that he’s going to play all night”.

As they proved once again, both with Grohl’s screams and shredding guitar, and thunderously loud bandmates consisting of bassist Nate Mendel, guitarist and Nirvana alum Pat Smear, drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarist Chris Shiflett, and keyboardist Rami Jaffee, rock and roll is far from dead.

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Foo Fighters
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Set-List
1. All My Life
2. Learn to Fly
3. The Pretender (Extended bridge)
4. The Sky Is a Neighbourhood
5. Rope (with Drum Solo)
6. Sunday Rain
7. My Hero
8. These Days
9. Walk
10. Under My Wheels (Alice Cooper cover)
11. Another One Bites the Dust (Queen cover) (snippet)
12. Imagine / Jump (mash-up – prefaced by Keyboard Solo)
13. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover)
14. Under Pressure (Queen cover)
15. Monkey Wrench
16. Run
17. Breakout
18. Dirty Water
19. This Is a Call
20. Best of You

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters performs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

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The Struts
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TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Struts perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Struts perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Struts perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Struts perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Struts perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

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The Beaches
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TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Beaches perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Beaches perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Beaches perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)

TORONTO, ON – JULY 12: The Beaches perform at Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 12, 2018. (Photo: Brendan Albert/Aesthetic Magazine)