Foo Fighters Vh1 Storytellers
October is redeeming itself from the rough start and tough middle. Throw in some Dave Grohl in the end it's alright after all.
A couple weeks ago I found out Foo Fighters would be performing for a taping of Vh1's Storytellers. Though I don't watch much music television I have seen a couple episodes that were cool where bands come on and play their songs and tell stories about their music. The Pearl Jam performance particularly blew my mind. So of course I wanted to go see my favorite band play on this show. The last time I saw them was last September and 13 months may be the longest I've gone without seeing them. This was one of those things where there were no tickets for sale, you just had to win them. I entered online contests to no avail. This usually is not a problem for me. I usually win quickly and easily or know someone who does that can take me along. This time it just wasn't happening. I have never not gone to a Foo show that I really wanted to go to. I don't know what it's like to not get in.
I was very concerned that my last chance at winning tickets would be through KROQ the day of the show. These KROQ ticket contests are nearly impossible. I had tried my ass off over the years and can rarely even get through the phone lines even to be the wrong caller. But I had to try anyway so I set my alarm for 7am in time to catch the Kevin and Bean morning radio show and stayed under the covers till they announced they were gonna start the Foo contest. They were only giving away one pair and it was to be won in a game. I called and got through and got put on hold. Within seconds my hands were shaking. Then a woman came on and asked me questions to make sure I was a real fan then put me on hold again. The next thing I know I hear Kevin and Bean on the radio introducing me and some other girl as the contestants and explaining how we are each gonna take a turn trying to guess what Foo song is being described (like a game of Password). We would each get 45 seconds and whoever gets the most titles gets the tickets. I don't know who this other girl was but I knew the chances of her Foo Fighters knowledge surpassing mine was pretty slim. And I was right. She went first and guessed zero songs so all I had to get was one which I got quickly. The Pretender won me those tickets.
I WON!!!! The feat of winning a game, a KROQ contest, and Foo tickets at the last minute had my adreneline really going. And I was pretty excited to be on the radio, despite how much I complain about it. I'm a full believer in paying things forward so I put Erich on the list too as my guest since he hadn't won tickets either. That was a good choice.
By chance I had the day off and i spent most of it on a high. While driving out to the Sony lot in Culver City I counted 9 Foo Fighters contests that I have won over the years. Crazy. Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest person I know. It just happens.
Then it just keeps getting better. When I got there I spotted Emily at the front of the line who had flown in from the east coast and they let me up front with them, which was incredibly nice since they had been waiting hours before me. We were in the first group to be let into the studio and they sat us behind the stage. The audience coordinators moved us around a lot. Because it was a tv taping they want certain people in certain places. By the time it was set we were in the front row behind the stage on the left side.
How can I even describe how good it was to see this band again. I can't unless you get it. But I wish every single person in this world could experience loving a band and being in the front row as they play their music. (And then getting to do it again and again) Even if it's from behind. Our view turned out to be pretty cool. We were really close to Taylor and could see Dave as he would turn around to interact with him and Nate. And we were the first people Dave looked at when he walked in and I was so happy to see his smiley face. The extra band members were there too so Pat Smear's smiley face was also in full effect.
They played the hits from This is a Call to The Pretender and two new songs, one which I hadn't heard before called Word Forward. Dave talked about how he wrote it about his best friend Jimmy who died. He talked about writing Best of You after Bush won his second term. He talked about how Everlong opened so many doors for them. He talked about how the band took a break and questioned if they really want to keep going and when they got back together Times Like These was born. There were so many things he said that I wanted to write down that have escaped my mind but hopefully it will be on the air. I loved every bit of it and had moment of feeling like I was right where I needed to be. Of course I was supposed to be here, listening to a real life hero tell stories about the band's history and sharing thoughts and playing music. Kudos.
The show airs November 27th on Vh1.
The first time I saw this band was nine years ago in October of 2000. I still love them just as much. Thank you for playing the way you play.
A couple weeks ago I found out Foo Fighters would be performing for a taping of Vh1's Storytellers. Though I don't watch much music television I have seen a couple episodes that were cool where bands come on and play their songs and tell stories about their music. The Pearl Jam performance particularly blew my mind. So of course I wanted to go see my favorite band play on this show. The last time I saw them was last September and 13 months may be the longest I've gone without seeing them. This was one of those things where there were no tickets for sale, you just had to win them. I entered online contests to no avail. This usually is not a problem for me. I usually win quickly and easily or know someone who does that can take me along. This time it just wasn't happening. I have never not gone to a Foo show that I really wanted to go to. I don't know what it's like to not get in.
I was very concerned that my last chance at winning tickets would be through KROQ the day of the show. These KROQ ticket contests are nearly impossible. I had tried my ass off over the years and can rarely even get through the phone lines even to be the wrong caller. But I had to try anyway so I set my alarm for 7am in time to catch the Kevin and Bean morning radio show and stayed under the covers till they announced they were gonna start the Foo contest. They were only giving away one pair and it was to be won in a game. I called and got through and got put on hold. Within seconds my hands were shaking. Then a woman came on and asked me questions to make sure I was a real fan then put me on hold again. The next thing I know I hear Kevin and Bean on the radio introducing me and some other girl as the contestants and explaining how we are each gonna take a turn trying to guess what Foo song is being described (like a game of Password). We would each get 45 seconds and whoever gets the most titles gets the tickets. I don't know who this other girl was but I knew the chances of her Foo Fighters knowledge surpassing mine was pretty slim. And I was right. She went first and guessed zero songs so all I had to get was one which I got quickly. The Pretender won me those tickets.
I WON!!!! The feat of winning a game, a KROQ contest, and Foo tickets at the last minute had my adreneline really going. And I was pretty excited to be on the radio, despite how much I complain about it. I'm a full believer in paying things forward so I put Erich on the list too as my guest since he hadn't won tickets either. That was a good choice.
By chance I had the day off and i spent most of it on a high. While driving out to the Sony lot in Culver City I counted 9 Foo Fighters contests that I have won over the years. Crazy. Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest person I know. It just happens.
Then it just keeps getting better. When I got there I spotted Emily at the front of the line who had flown in from the east coast and they let me up front with them, which was incredibly nice since they had been waiting hours before me. We were in the first group to be let into the studio and they sat us behind the stage. The audience coordinators moved us around a lot. Because it was a tv taping they want certain people in certain places. By the time it was set we were in the front row behind the stage on the left side.
How can I even describe how good it was to see this band again. I can't unless you get it. But I wish every single person in this world could experience loving a band and being in the front row as they play their music. (And then getting to do it again and again) Even if it's from behind. Our view turned out to be pretty cool. We were really close to Taylor and could see Dave as he would turn around to interact with him and Nate. And we were the first people Dave looked at when he walked in and I was so happy to see his smiley face. The extra band members were there too so Pat Smear's smiley face was also in full effect.
They played the hits from This is a Call to The Pretender and two new songs, one which I hadn't heard before called Word Forward. Dave talked about how he wrote it about his best friend Jimmy who died. He talked about writing Best of You after Bush won his second term. He talked about how Everlong opened so many doors for them. He talked about how the band took a break and questioned if they really want to keep going and when they got back together Times Like These was born. There were so many things he said that I wanted to write down that have escaped my mind but hopefully it will be on the air. I loved every bit of it and had moment of feeling like I was right where I needed to be. Of course I was supposed to be here, listening to a real life hero tell stories about the band's history and sharing thoughts and playing music. Kudos.
The show airs November 27th on Vh1.
The first time I saw this band was nine years ago in October of 2000. I still love them just as much. Thank you for playing the way you play.