Dave Grohl makes the most of a leg injury, even playing guitar with his cast.

Nick Krewen

Music, Published on Thu Jul 09 2015

Foo Fighters
3.5 stars
July 8 at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Dave Grohl isn’t going to let little things like a severely broken leg and ankle stop him from rocking the night away.

Lesser musicians would have thrown in the towel and taken the requisite time to heal, but not the Foo Fighters’ founding front man: there he was on stage at the Molson Amphitheatre on Wednesday night for the first of two shows, sitting — with his right leg elevated in a full cast on a contraption that was inspired one part by Game Of Thrones and one part by Dr. Who and The Daleks — flailing away on guitar and singing at the top of his lungs as the first chords of “Everlong” filled the air.

“I haven’t given up yet!” he screamed to the crowd in between verses of the song, the first of 23 that would keep the 16,000 in attendance standing on their feet for the next three hours: “You’re getting a show, motherf—-s!”

And did he deliver on his promise, compensating for his immobility since the June 12 accident in Sweden with an adrenaline-fueled concert that featured extended workouts of Foo Fighters hits like “Learn To Fly” and “The Best Of You,” his five-piece support — guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mandel, drummer Taylor Hawkins and Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee — as taut and disciplined as one would imagine.

They also rocked some classic covers — David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure,” Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl,” Rod Stewart and The Faces’ “Stay With Me,” and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” (Geddy Lee’s mom was sitting side stage next to Dave’s mom, the singer happily pointed out.)

Although he was forced to spend most of the concert in the chair — there was a brief acoustic set of “My Hero” and “Times Like These” where Grohl hobbled up to the front of the stage on crutches, which he broke and threw into the crowd — one of the most frequent visions of the singer was the top of his head bouncing to the rhythm, his long hair obscuring his instrument, as he was strumming along to his band’s aggressive, melodic rock, his “good” leg swinging violently as the group picked up the pace, with “Monkey Wrench” and “All My Life” performed with particular gusto.

He also told some great stories, and brought along film and photos of the accident and subsequent hospital stay. In fact, let it be said that not only does Dave Grohl have a great sense of humour, but also a spirited entrepreneurial reflex. The North American leg of this Sonic Highways tour has been unofficially re-christened the “Break A Leg” tour; the backstage laminates feature a wheelchair illustration and at least two $30 t-shirts are emblazoned with an accident reference, with one sporting the X-ray of Grohl’s injured limb.

During “This is a Call,” Grohl turned his cast into an instrument, rubbing his guitar against it during an extended solo. He even adjusted the first verse of “These Days” accordingly, hilariously singing, “One of these days you’re going to jump off the stage and break your ankle.”

Despite the physical setback, Grohl and the rest of the Foos gave the audience a healthy reminder of what real rock ’n’ roll is: a relentless combination of fury and zeal performed with unbridled passion.

The only negative: a handful of songs — especially the few that drummer Hawkins sang — were so severely under-mixed to the point where they were rendered unintelligible, as the band’s music drowned out the vocals.

Otherwise, Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters did a superb job of raising the bar of professionalism for their peers: personal injury no longer has a leg to stand on as a viable excuse for canceling tours.

Foo Fighters keep fans and moms on their feet: review | Toronto Star