On Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., I got a phone call from my brother, asking what I was doing that evening. I told him I’d be writing a paper, nothing too exciting. He informed me that his reason for asking was that it was his friend’s birthday, and a group of them were going to see the Foo Fighters at MSG. They had an extra ticket, which I could have for free, and he offered to pay for my beer. Now, I had never actually heard a full Foo Fighters album all the way through, but I like free things and I have never hated any of their songs, so I figured, “Why not?”

My decision to put off writing a paper turned out to be a very good one. Despite the fact that I have never been an actual fan of the Foo Fighters, their live show was a good, old-fashioned display of solid arena rock, as proved by Dave Grohl’s frequent metal faces. The songs I did know (”Everlong”, “Best of You”, “Monkey Wrench”, etc.) were great to hear, and I was reminded that these guys, in fact, are some pretty decent songwriters. It didn’t hurt that our originally undesirable spot toward the back of the floor became prime real estate when the band moved to the opposite end of the arena, onto a round metal stage that was lowered from the ceiling.

All in all, the Foo Fighters provided a highly enjoyable concert experience, albeit one that I would have never thought to go to on my own. They are solid pop-rock musicians and Dave Grohl’s famous charisma carried the band through their two-hour set. Bonus: I was sober enough when I got home to get some of the paper written, anyway.

More photos below…