I remember going to RFK stadium for the first time to see the Redskins with my dad. I recall a number of things about that day very clearly. I remember looking at that undulating canopy on top – perfectly sky blue – and thinking how elegant it looked. Everybody was very nice. Things were clean. My dad bought me a program (!) It was like ten bucks. He bought me a hot dog. It was probably 5 bucks. I remember thinking that, man, we're living large here! I hope we don't run out of money. I remember the swoopy pedestrian ramps that were seemingly everywhere but didn't appear to go anywhere….but if you walked long enough you got where you needed to go. However, what I recall most vividly was walking through the hallway that leads out to your section of seats and seeing that field. It was simply perfect. Dazzling green. Crisp, precise yard lines. I was so surprised by what I saw that I literally stopped in my tracks. This was it. This was where the Redskins played. In the days before HD TV and 4K displays, home field looked a lot different on tv than it did in person.
With this in mind, imagine my surprise when we pulled into the parking lot off of Independence Avenue (what a mess that road is) and was confronted with this:
Gone is the swoopy blue canopy.
And then there's this. Just everything is a mess. I wasn't brave enough to take a picture in the Men's wading pool / bathroom. They couldn't afford a trashcan so there was a 5' pile of paper towels on the floor.
Honestly, the entire physical condition of the stadium looks like they decided to open it just for this event – like we went to a concert in Chernobyl. I understand that the DC United play there but the crowds must be small. The stadium ran out of everything. They ran out of food, water and toilet paper. Nobody took credit cards that I could find. The ATM's were out of money. How do you run out of water during a summer event? Actually, I'll tell you how – you're so focused on making money that you don't care…..there was never a shortage of beer….just sayin. Anywho – on to the concert.
We missed the first band and we also missed Joan Jett. That's ok. I love Joan but once you've seen "I love Rock n' Roll" once or twice that's usually enough. It is curious tho that Joan went on second. She was just inducted into the Hall of Fame. Anyway, we strolled over to the stadium and, after sorting out some last minute ticketing fun and games, we went into RFK. Hot as all get out inside but we worked our way up a few levels, came outside just under the cover and were greated with this:
If you can't read that, it says "Severe Lightening Expected. Head to concourse to seek shelter". Yes, the infield is still crowded with people.
It poured. Thankfully we were under the canopy but it rained for over an hour. When the rain relented it took some time to get things on stage squared away but, all in all, it started pretty quickly. Gary Clark Jr. was the first act after the rain delay. That guy can play. I've watched a couple of episodes of Dave Grohls monument to himself on HBO called "Sonic Highways" but didn't connect the name with the performer. Dude, Gary Clark can play. I picked up his latest album this morning. After that were Heart, LLCoolJ, Buddy Guy, Trouble Funk and then the Foos. Heart was pretty good but I've been over them for a long time. I've always liked LL and he came pretty close to stealing the show. Even in his short set, he killed. It was like I went to a rock concert and a hip-hop show broke out. Buddy Guy, amazing. For a guy his age, he punished that guitar and he's got the cred to sell those blues baby. Onstage He said, "baby, you don't have the blues? keep on livin'". He had another guitarist with him who was pretty hot but I liked it when he played best. After that, the big curtain came down:
The curtain stayed down for about half an hour during which a montage of "Sonic Highways" rambled on for the entire time. As a practical matter, this is where this thing started to really run off the rails for me. The screens on the side were too small and the sound (which was problematic all day long) was just too muddy to understand most of what was being said. Neither the screens, nor the sound were really primo all day long. The screen on the right kept going crazy and dark and they didn't use the main screen at all until the Foos went onstage. After being subjected to that, the curtain came up and the Foos started into their set and here's where it really ran off the rails:
Yes, that is Dave Grohl on a movable throne with his broken leg sticking out the front. Look, I love me some Foo but when I saw him come rolling forward on that thing I wondered if this whole thing had more to do with money than desire. In what is probably the lousiest venue for 300 miles, a stadium rock band's leader come's rolling up in a hover-round. I know those cancelled European dates must have cost them a pretty penny and this, coupled with the whole rest of the day, really put a dent in my desire to see the whole thing through. Understand that this is no minor thing for me. The Foo's have been one of my go to bands for a long time but this thing was a bridge too far.
Look, I know that being a rock star is 1 part megalomania coupled with 1 part showman, 1 part endurance animal, 1 or more parts musician and a desire to be heard but the millisecond I saw the throne the thought that his megalomania had won this constant fugue bounced through my brain before I could contain it.
However, after Dave managed to shut it long enough to play some songs I really did enjoy the rest of the concert. The hottest number all night was "Generator." Dave acted as though he had randomly selected to play. I wonder though if this was really the case as they seemed to have all of the graphics ready to display on the screens. Curious, no? In any event, that was the hottest number of the night.
All in all, I enjoyed the day but I won't be going back to see the Foo Fighters again. Fans tend to have an unreasonable sense of ownership in anything their favorite bands do and I'm no different. Once you start wondering about motives, it is time to move on. Maybe that's naive but it does happen. Ask all of those long time Metallica fans how many albums they bought after the black album cam out. I know that music is big business and there is a lot of money on the line but I gotta believe if I'm going to expend that amount of money and time.