Foo Fighters’ next-to-last show of their 2024 Australian tour took place in Sydney on Saturday, December 9. According to frontman Dave Grohl, the concert, which was held at Accor Stadium, was the largest gig the veteran rockers have ever played in the country. Grohl According to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Grohl announced the milestone from the stage in front of a sell-out crowd of 75,000.
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At most dates on the tour, which kicked off on November 29 in Perth, Foo Fighters have been paying tribute to their Australian rock heroes, AC/DC, by playing a version of that group’s classic bawdy 1976 song “Big Balls.” To belt out the tune, the Foos have invited their tattooed Australian drum technician Fiona Owens on stage to do the honors.
You can check out fan-shot video of Owens’ Sydney performance on YouTube. In the clip, Grohl introduces “Big Balls” by telling the crowd, “We picked a good one, and we picked the right one to sing it. Would you please welcome our drum tech, Fiona, the one f***in’ Australian who could come up and sing it for you now!”
According to Setlist.fm, Foo Fighters also have paid homage to AC/DC during the trek by adding some riffs from the Australian band’s classic song “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” into their performance of their own tune “No Son of Mine.” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” appears on AC/DC’s 1976 album of the same name, which also happens to feature “Big Balls.”
The tour leg has marked Foo Fighters’ first trip to Australia since 2018 and its first visit to the country since the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins died in March 2022 at age 50 in Bogota, Colombia, while the band was on tour there.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Grohl announced during the Sydney show that they were dedicating the performance of their song “Aurora” to their “dear friend” Hawkins.
“I think [Australia] was one of his favorite places in the world too. I know it was,” Grohl said. “When he and I used to come down here, look out. [‘Aurora’] was his favorite Foo Fighters song, and it was the first one we wrote together. So whenever we play it, I like to dedicate it to him. Let’s hear it for Taylor.”
You can check out photos and a video clip from the Sydney show on Foo Fighters’ official Instagram page.
It’s worth noting that AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, backed by Foo Fighters and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, performed two AC/DC songs, “Back in Black” and “Let There Be Rock,” at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert held September 3, 2022, at Wembley Stadium in London.
Foo Fighters’ Australian tour is scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday, December 12, in Brisbane. The band will continue its Down Under trek in January 2024 with a trio of shows in New Zealand. Tickets are available via StubHub, where tickets are fully insured and guaranteed through FanProtect. Remember that the pricing may be higher or lower than non-third-party ticketing platforms.
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