Foo Fighters set American tour, but what can we expect on the setlist?

(Anthony Abbott/Flickr)

(Anthony Abbott/Flickr)

The American rock band Foo Fighters announced the dates and locations of their 2015 North American tour on Nov. 18. The tour includes 28 concerts throughout the United States and Canada, which will commence July 4 in Washington.

This announcement came just eight days after the band released their eighth album “Sonic Highways.” The album, which had been in the works since early last year, is unique in that each of its eight songs were recorded in different, musically historical cities across the country, with the help of iconic musicians from said cities.

Although the Foo Fighters will not be joined on tour by the various musicians who helped them produce “Sonic Highways,” we can expect they will integrate their new material into their set lists alongside tried and true crowd favorites, if their recent performances can be any indication.

According to Setlist.fm, during a concert at the House of Blues in New Orleans on Nov. 21, the Foo Fighters played five songs from the new album – “The Feast and the Famine,” “Congregation,” “In the Clear,” “Outside” and “Something From Nothing” – along with classic rock covers and songs from each of their previous albums.

The first single from “Sonic Highways,” “Something From Nothing,” which was officially released on Oct. 16, has quickly become a frequently played song at concerts. Since the Foo Fighters played the song on Oct. 17 on the Late Show with David Letterman, they have done nine live performances to date. “Something From Nothing” was featured at seven of them. In comparison, other new songs like “The Feast and the Famine,” “Congregation,” and “In the Clear,” have each been played four times since their release.

Although the Foo Fighters are certainly looking to introduce their audience to their new work, they seem to respond to their audience in turn by playing what is already popular among their fan base. This is not only true of “Something From Nothing,” which has almost 3,000,000 views on YouTube, but also of the band’s much older songs. In fact, according to Setlist.fm, the three songs that the Foo Fighters have played most often in concert are “Everlong,” “Monkey Wrench” and “My Hero,” all of which were recorded for their 1997 album, “The Colour and the Shape.” The band has not given up on playing its classics to make room for new songs, either; all three songs were featured at their most recent concert on Nov. 21.

Appropriately, during the Foo Fighters’ 2015 North American tour, the band is set to return to five of the eight cities where they recorded songs for “Sonic Highways”: Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tenn. The Chicago show, set for Aug. 29 is already sold out, according to the Foo Fighters’ Facebook page.

Royal Blood will open for the Foo Fighters from the July 6 show in Camden, N.J. to the Aug. 25 show in Pittsburgh, with the exception of the July 18 show in Boston, where Mission of Burma will play.

It is reasonable to wonder whether some of the musicians that played a role in the production of “Sonic Highways,” could also join the band for select shows along the way, considering they are returning to many of the cities where the album was produced. It has already been determined that the kick-off Washington show will feature performances by musicians from almost every city the Foo Fighters visited during production.

The band introduced a box-office only pre-sale on Saturday called “Beat the Bots,” which is designed to curb ticket scalping. With the exception of the Washington concert, which has already made online ticket purchases available, and the two concerts at Fenway Park in Boston, all shows offered a “Beat the Bots” presale.

In addition, online pre-sales will commence Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. and the general public will be able to buy tickets starting Dec. 4. Tickets could certainly sell quickly, especially considering the band posted the pre-sale password (HIGHWAYS) to their Facebook on Nov. 19. Those who are interested in purchasing tickets should visit the Foo Fighters’ website for a full list of concert locations.

Shelby Ashline can be reached at [email protected]

Facebook Comments