June 23, 2007
Los Angeles
Halfway through the Foo Fighters' 45-minute set, Dave Grohl is lost in the Dodger Stadium crowd. When last visible, he was heading toward the pitcher's mound, shaking hands along the way, his wireless guitar and a small army of security guys, led by his longtime tour manager, in tow. Grohl later recalls the first time he began roaming the audience mid-guitar solo: ''It was on the first arena tour we did opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers [in 2000]. The first two shows, we killed it, but on the third one, the audience was just kind of standing there. I thought, 'Okay, I'll run out there and play in the middle of that.' So I did and I just started seeing how far I could go. There were shows where I was in the hallway by the f---in' cotton candy and popcorn. As people were buying their beers, they'd see me running by. I enjoy doing it, because it shrinks the room a bit. And sometimes I feel a need to do it, like opening for the Police. Dodger Stadium is a big place and it wasn't our gig, but I wanted to try and make it ours for that 45 minutes.''
Any extra boost in the Foos' energy came courtesy of Sting himself. ''Seeing him on the side of the stage during our first five songs made us play twice as hard,'' says Grohl.
''He's one of the reasons I learned to play bass, so I was feeling self-conscious on top of being scared,'' adds Mendel.
''I thought they were f---n' great,'' Grohl says of the Police's own performance. ''To me, it was this new version of the band. Stewart Copeland played like he always did — too fast, too much — so he's, like, in a time machine. I thought Sting sang great. I had a really good time. I watched from the crowd and f---in' '80s danced. I just did the Molly Ringwald for two f---in' hours!''
