Foo Fighters answer the call with solid set at Boston Calling

BOSTON – The summer concert season, which hasn’t officially started yet, is shaping up to be the Summer of Taylor, as in pop deity Taylor Swift and rock casualty Taylor Hawkins.

It was a night for drummers past, present and future Friday night for the first of three days of “Boston Calling.”

You had Dave Grohl, the frontman of the Foo Fighters and the best drummer to emerge out of the ‘90s.

You had the aforementioned Hawkins, the longtime drummer of the Foo Fighters, who died while on tour on March 25, 2022, in Bogotá, Colombia at 50. His memory and spirit loomed large during the Foo Fighters’ performance Friday night.

You had Josh Freese, the new drummer for the Foo Fighters, playing only his second concert Friday night with his new band. And it was only the Foo Fighters’ second official concert since Hawkins’ death, not counting two tribute concerts last fall.

And then you had Oliver Shane Hawkins, the son of Taylor Hawkins, who stole the show. But more about Hawkins’ gifted offspring later.

For the Foo Fighters’ cathartic and oftentimes therapeutic 20-song, two-hour headlining set, all attention from the get-go was focused on the new guy, Freese.

No stranger to the alternative rock scene, Freese also pounds the skins for Devo and the Vandals, and has played drums for Guns N’ Rose, Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Sting and Weezer. But, Friday night, one had the sneaky suspicion that Freese was still in the evaluation process at his new job and this, in front of a Boston crowd, was the biggest gig of his life.

In the end (heck, after two songs), Freese not only passed the audition but did so with flying colors.

The Foo Fighters opened with the solid rocker “Rescued,” the first of only two songs from the Foo Fighters’ new album “But Here We Are,” which debuts early next week.

Wearing a black work shirt, black jeans and black Converse sneakers, Grohl unleashed his intense, throat-shedding vocals and killer, choppy guitar licks, while his fellow Foos (guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and new drummer Freese) enthusiastically answered the call with a combustible mix of galloping guitars, ricocheting bass lines and propulsive, powder-keg drumming.

Perfect fit for band

Although he started off playing the drums more like Buddy Rich than John “Bonzo” Bonham, it became apparent quickly that despite being a different kind of drummer than Hawkins and Grohl, for that matter, Freese - wearing a black T-shirt with “Fingers crossed for the new guy” in red lettering and playing a drum kit that included two bass drums with stuffed animals sticking out of the front resonant heads - is an accomplished drummer and perfect fit for the Foo Fighters.

By the second number, “Walk,” Freese was pounding the skins with aplomb and like he had something to prove. And, by song’s end, the crowd was convinced that the not-so-new, new guy were their guy.

And with an unrelenting barrage of Foo Fighters hits, including “Learn to Fly,” “This Is the Call,” “The Pretender” and “My Hero,” Freese and the fans got a full-fledged workout.

During various times in the night, Grohl addressed the crowd about how it feels different now playing in front of the big crowds and singing these old Foo Fighters songs, which have new meaning attached to them since the death of Hawkins.

Opening up about how it felt funny to be onstage without Hawkins, Grohl urged the crowd, “Let’s do it together. We can make it feel it’s all right.”

Grohl opened “Times Like These” as a stripped-down, bare-bones, introspective solo number before being joined by the full band for its cathartic crescendo.

On “Breakout,” Grohl encouraged the crowd to sing along, which they enthusiastically did, and playfully mocked the young concertgoers in the crowd with parental guidance by saying, “I know it’s embarrassing to see your parents sing. Tough (expletive)!”

“Breakout” was also a solid showcase for Freese, who delivered a “Hammer of the Gods”-like drum solo that was pure fire and brimstone stuff.

While there was plenty of somberness and seriousness unfolding onstage, there was also moments of silliness. During the introduction of the band, Smear broke into the heavy riffs of a Vandals song, which Grohl immediately recognized, and snapped, “That’s a Vandals song. Josh is in the Vandals. He’s not even the best drummer in the Vandals.” Ouch!

Shredding on his custom-made Gibson Trini Lopez guitar as well as shredding his voice, Grohl and his fellow Foo Fighters delivered a full-throttle, frontal assault with “All My Life.”

Grohl's daughter joins in

Wearing a dungaree shirt over a black dress, 17-year-old Violet Grohl joined her daddy onstage for “Shame Shame” and “Rope.” While at first she was only providing alluring backing vocals, she eventually belted out the former tune and proved that she has powerful pipes strong enough that she can make it on her own and without having to ride on her father’s coattails.

After saying how the Foo Fighters are like a big, happy family, Grohl (who knows about rock ‘n’ roll tragedies better than anyone; he was the drummer for Nirvana) dedicated the somber “Cold Day in the Sun,” a song he used to sing with Hawkins, to Hawkins’ family and his fallen bandmate, and, later, also played the trippy “Aurora,” which Grohl said was Hawkins’ favorite Foo Fighters song but from the reaction of the crowd, far from being a fan favorite.

Then, Grohl introduced one of his favorite drummers in the world, Hawkins’ 17-year-old son Oliver Shane Hawkins (who goes by Shane), who sat behind the drum kit for “I’ll Stick Around.”

Banging the drums incessantly while his flying bangs often covered his baby face, Shawn Hawkins single-handedly stole the show. Not only can the kid play, he’s a powerhouse drummer like his late dad.

Almost as if he didn’t want to be outshined by a kid a third his age, the 50-year-old Freese showed he wasn’t monkeying around on “Monkey Wrench” and, arguably, the Foo Fighters' best song, the set closer "Everlong."

Worcester band on bill

It only seems natural that “Boston Calling” would have local heroes on the bill and had two of the best earlier in the day - the Boston shamrockers Dropkick Murphys and Worcester’s own Blue Light Bandits.

In their 45-minute set, the Dropkick Murphys did what they do best - transform the sprawling Harvard Athletic Complex into a festive Irish pub.

Wearing a black jogging suit with Boston Celtics green sneakers on his shuffling feet, Ken Casey led the Murphys - guitarist and Worcester native James Lynch, bassist Kevin Rheault, drummer and Leominster native Matt Kelly, banjo/bouzouki/mandolin/harmonica player Jeff DaRosa and accordion/tin whistle/guitar player Tim Brennan and bagpiper Scruffy Wallace - into a rowdy, Boston-centric and Irish-influenced set, including “The Boys Are Back,” “Queen of Suffolk County,” “The State of Massachusetts,” “Two 6’s Upside Down,” “Rose Tattoo,” “Skinhead on the MBTA,” “In the Streets of Boston” and ending with the Woody Guthrie poem set to music, "I'm Shipping Up to Boston."

While the Murphys sang loud and sang proud, Blue Light Bandits made Worcester proud and made a few new converts in the bargain with its blend of funk, jazz, blues, rock and jam.

Fronted by Dan DeCristofaro on lead vocals and keyboards, the Blue Light Bandits - including bassist Ethan Bates, guitarist Jay Faires, drummer Simon Adamsson and Eli Mateo sitting in on percussion - delivered a stellar six-song set that included originals “How We Used To Love,” “Patience," “Punk Rock Dreams” and “Are You Ready Now.”

From the reaction of the crowd, it seems that the Bandits are ready, willing and able to tap into a bigger audience, even a national one.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Foo Fighters, Dropkick Murphys and Blue Light Bandits at Boston Calling