The promo material said only 50 attendees were to be allowed in. And, dammit, the people running the event were intent on keeping their promise.
In what Dave Grohl proclaimed to be the hottest, sweatiest garage of the tour so far, the Foo Fighters played more than hour to an enthusiastic group of less than 50 people at a top-secret rural home just outside of Dallas on Tuesday afternoon as part of The Garage Tour sponsored by Blackberry.
How the hell I got there is beyond me -- but I took advantage of every minute of it, dancing and sweating and shouting out lyrics while Dave sang, and pointing and smiling at Pat Smear as if he needed me to reassure him that he is indeed a badass.
The Foo Fighters started the set with the lead track, "Bridge Burning," from their new album, Wasting Light. The contest winner, and home owner, was allowed to submit a list of personal requests that the band intertwined into their set, including hits like "Learn To Fly," "Times Like These," "All My Life" and a Dave Grohl solo serenade of "Everlong." But it was the off-the-cuff jams sessions, like the one that started with their song "Stacked Actors" that turned into "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" by Van Halen then to "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent, and their cover of Prince's "Darling Nikki," that drove home true feelings of what a garage show should feel like -- all while the rain poured intermittently, creating a hot, sticky, steamy climate.
The band ended with "This is A Call," drenched in sweat, then immediately retreated to their trailer, changed into their swimsuits and jumped into the home owner's pool.
After cooling off, the band said their goodbyes -- except for Dave who mingled with the crowd. He hung out shirtless with a beach towel wrapped around his waist while signing CDs, guitars and chatting. The rain started to come down again, and he continued to mingle until a downpour descended upon the crowd.
Then it was over. Just as quickly as it had started. So surreal.
