Foo Fighters Get Epic at Festival Finale

Citing previous headliners such as Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, many ACL attendees were skeptical about the choice of mainstream rockers Foo Fighters serving as a closer to the weekend. Admittedly, we were among the cynics, and had a preconceived notion that this MTV-friendly band was going to leave a bad taste in our ears after three days of remarkable shows. To our (pleasant) surprise, Dave Grohl and his band put on an epic show worthy of the final slot at the festival.

Drums, lights and loud-ass guitar ripped through the night sky for miles Sunday night for nearly two hours at the AT&T Stage. There were string-filled arena rock acoustic ballads, a lengthy drum solo backed by strobe lights and an endless crowd of listeners young and old as far as the eye could see moving to the music. While it all might have been a tad formulaic, the production values were high and the songs were tight.

Boasting a set list that was principally a sampling of over a decade's worth of hits, Foo Fighters turned songs like "My Hero" and "Learn to Fly" into contagious sing-a-longs. Grohl came to the mic alone for a solo, melancholic take on "Everlong" on electric guitar and went all out with the band for a lively extended version of "Stacked Actors." Other songs making an appearance included "Monkey Wrench," "The Pretender," "Skin and Bones," a cover of The Who's "Young Man Blues" and "Cold Day in the Sun," with drummer Taylor Hawkins taking over on lead vocals.

With all the trimmings of a big-budget rock show backed by a long list of well-known songs to keep the crowd dancing, Foo Fighters served as an unexpectedly fitting conclusion to this year's ACL festivities. -Eric Pulsifer