Here at Detour, we find comfort in small spaces. Whether it’s a hard-to-find, neon-splattered artist loft, a rickety art gallery, or a smoke-filled dive bar, the shows we usually find ourselves at are of the quaint variety. Which is why our experience at a recent arena-rock show by Foo Fighters basically blew our collective minds. The Foos, a safe bet when it comes to guilt-free hard rock, put on a show that was so grandiose and ridiculous that we couldn’t help but enjoy every moment. Short of covering “Tom Sawyer,” the Foos live show was straight up 2112-era Rush, as they peppered vintage rockers like “Stacked Actors” and “This is a Call” with dueling guitar shred-offs and bluesy interludes. They even tossed stickman Taylor Hawkins a drum solo that cast him as the stoner surfer-dude version of Neil Pert. They had catwalks, platforms, an 8-piece band, and a mini-stage for the Foos to get all weepy with their acoustics. Not surprisingly, singer Dave Grohl (who, to us, will still always be Nirvana’s drummer) was steering the ship – Cheshire cat grin and impressive hair flips and all. He stalked the stage, ran amok on the catwalks, and generally charmed the shit out of the capacity audience like the charismatic asshole he is. Oh, and did we mention the band is tighter than most of Paris Hilton’s wardrobe? A smaller venue would have exploded trying to hold in all the pomp and excess. We’re just glad we were able to see these guys before they start gigging on Mars.

– Words: Ryan Allen / Pics: Erika Rich