Foo Fighters play to a Sold Out crowd at The Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut

September 19, 2021
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

While walking up to the Amphitheater, I was surprised not to see a huge line leading up to the gates of this Sold Out show. With The Foo Fighters requiring proof of a negative Covid-19 test or a vaccine card, the venue was prepared, planning their opening an hour early and having the ushers check everyone’s status before even getting in line for the show. This seemed to be a good system. Before the gates opened you could hear The Foo Fighters sound checking with the song “Blitzkrieg Bop”. I was hoping to hear them play this song tonight as I know they have played it live in the past. I right away noticed lots of people wearing Foo Fighters shirts from numerous tours and albums from the last 26 years. The excitement was building as people passed through security to get in line at the merch booths.

The opening act for the evening was BamBara. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, have been described as Noise Pop, Noise Rock, Death Rock, but most often Post Punk. With a lot of spoken words, screaming, and occasionally rolling around on the stage, it seemed to me that Reid Bateh, the lead singer, took some influence from Jim Morrison. Some fans were heard saying that the sound mix was off, but I think this was intentional and part of the reason they have been coined by some as “Noise Rock”. I did think by the last song, it sounded more refined. This may be because their sound has evolved from their beginnings. These guys definitely got the crowd amp’d up for the Foo Fighters.

BamBara is:

Reid Bateh – Lead Vocals, Guitar

Blaze Bateh – Drums, Vocals

William Brookshire – Bass, Vocals

Touring Musicians:

Bryan Keller Jr. – Guitar, Vocals

Sammy Zalta – Guitar, Keyboards

Shortly after 9:00 pm, The Foo Fighters took the stage and rolled right into their hit songs “Times Like These”, “The Pretender”, and “Learn to Fly”. The entire crowd was on their feet. From his searing vocals and guitar work, to his passionate stage performance, Dave Grohl was nothing short of amazing! He asked the crowd if they were ready to handle an hour long rock show, waited for a response, and then kept upping the anti as the crowds response kept getting louder. He eluded to the fact that it would be a two and a half hour show, and he was wrong. They wowed the crowd with hit after hit for approximately two hours and forty five minutes.

During the song “Breakout”, they turned off the house lights and Dave Grohl requested that everyone “light the place up” and that they did. With everyone illuminating their cell phone lights, like we did in the 80’s with lighters, it was as if the house lights were still on. Mid set they went into a few cover songs. First was “You Should Be Dancing” by the BeeGees, and also on their DeeGees Hail Satin album, which was released in July of this year. After that, they performed “Somebody to Love” by Queen. This was a performance not to be missed!! Taylor Hawkins took the front of the stage and belted out some amazing vocals while Dave Grohl got back to his roots and took to the drums. About half way through the song they invited Omar Hakim out to help out on the drums. That was a fantastic treat for the fans!! Taylor commented that “I am now the third best drummer on this stage!” As the fans cheers were deafening, The Foo Fighters ended the evening with a string of hits; 2005’s “Best of You”, and then “Monkey Wrench” and “Everlong” off of 1997’s The Colour and the Shape Album.

From Dave Grohl’s awesome vocals and passionate performance on stage to Taylor Hawkins’ killer drumming this is a must see tour. If you haven’t seen The Foo Fighters yet, you can catch them at one of their upcoming shows.

The Foo Fighters are:

Dave Grohl – Lead Vocals, Guitar

Chris Shiflett – Lead Guitar

Pat Smear – Rythem Guitar

Nate Mendel – Bass

Rami Jaffee – Keyboards, piano

Taylor Hawkins – Drums

Setlist: