The past 6 months has been a very exciting time for music fans, with artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Beyonce and The Rolling Stones hitting the world hard with new albums and huge shows. On the 19^th of June, there was an awakening. When everyone was too busy following the latest trends, on Snapchat and Instagram. Dave Grohl and his band of merry men took to the stage at The Etihad stadium to show the people of Manchester that rock music is very much alive.

As the living legends came on stage they were greeted by the loudest roar I’ve ever heard from a stadium crowd. Pat Smear and Chris Shiftlett responded with a wave of distorted guitars alongside the shrieking screams of the man himself, Dave Grohl. Just as the crowd were on the edge of their seats, Foo Fighters tore into ‘All My Life’, which kicked off the show to an all mighty start. The Foo’s brought their A-game, but of course, you would expect nothing less. From the outset they showcased their hall of fame proven repertoire, the atmosphere was alight, the fans could not stop screaming the words to ‘Learn to Fly’ or moshing to ‘The Pretender’, you could just tell this was going to be a night you would never forget.

Throughout the night Dave Grohl constantly reminded everyone that he is one of the greatest frontmen of all time, from audience interaction to roaring guitar solos, he didn’t stop, and we couldn’t keep our eyes off him. In the middle of the set Foo Fighters decided to surprise us with a swift switch around between Grohl and Hawkins, the crowd once again hit the metaphorical roof as Taylor Hawkins and co. treated us to a rendition of Queen’s ‘Under Pressure.’

At any other show you would expect that after 2 hours, the set would come to an end, but no, the crowd and the band were still eager for more. The American rockers took to the stage for an encore and proceeded to play 3 extra songs (all of which were significantly extended). As they kicked into the final stretch with ‘Times Like These,’ ‘Best of You’ and ‘Everlong’ the atmosphere was incredible, there was an overpowering sense of euphoria in the air that only a band like Foo Fighters could create, the audience were having the times of their lives.

To be a band for 2 years is an incredible achievement, and to have people react to your music in the way that the crowd at The Etihad did must mean the world to Foo Fighters. Even the tracks from their new album Concrete and Gold held up perfectly as part of their set. After everything that the crowd must have gone through that night, they will all share a similar thought after that show and that can only be the fact that Rock and Roll is not dead.

Foo fighters will continue their UK tour towards the end of this week and if you have managed to grab yourself a ticket then you are in for one hell of a night.

Jimmy Ingham