SXSW 2011: Foo Fighters premier Back & Forth w/ Secret Show

March 15th (Tues)

After a full day of meetings, filling out forms, permits etc – I took a break to have lunch right off Congress Ave. I check to see what’s going on – and I had heard the rumblings of this since I got here so it didn’t come as a complete surprise, but the Foo Fighters were in town to attend the premier of a new documentary on them called The Foo Fighters: Back and Forth – (keep in mind this is still the film period as music doesn’t officially start till tomorrow) – ok, so with all of the Foos in town, to promote a movie and a new record called Wasting Light, you know these dudes are gonna do a show, the only thing is finding out when/where/how to get in – a band that big I would think Stubb’s would be the logical choice – so I checked to see if their was any of that SXSW-TBA-“secret guest” action going on at Stubb’s that night, and sure enough there was,so I called by buddy that works there and he confirmed it.
When this sorta thing happens, the entire festival goes into Lord of the Flies mode, as even non- Foo Fighters fans couldn’t bare, not getting into something so exclusive – so everyone freaks out.
But I stayed calm – and first the premier –
So I hear that the premier of the movie is happening in like 15 mins about 3 blocks away – their is no way I’m gonna get in – I don’t even have a music badge, let alone a film one – and the line must be around the corner by now right?
But since I was so close I had to go have a look – and as I turned the corner, out front of the Paramount Theater, I saw the limo with the FF logo on the side (for the first single, White Limo, the video features a funny car chase with limo driver being Lemmy respectively) –

And yes, the line was almost to the goddamn freeway, but remember what I said about staying calm? – I don’t know what came over me – but I just walked up to the front, in the opposite direction of the line, walked into the front door, past security, past the ticket takers and up the stairs I went – nobody asked me shit, I had no credentials of any kind around my neck, nothing – either I just looked like I belonged, or they were too busy to notice, but I got my ass out there and quickly found a seat.

The Foos did a quick introduction with the director before the show started and then the film began. I loved it, I thought it was excellent and very well made. It picks up right after the death of Kurt Cobain, and covers literally everything, no matter how insignificant from that fateful day in 1994, till the present day if it involved the life of Dave Grohl – (except oddly, for a film that clearly prides itself on completest, for some reason, the Them Crooked Vultures project featuring Josh Homme and John Paul Jones was omitted entirely, weird) – even if you are not a fan of the Foos/Nirvana or whatever, and I admittedly really haven’t kept up that much since the first record came out, way back when, but this movie is done so well, its easy to enjoy. Not to mention the perfect thing to get you pumped up a little bit, knowing your gonna see them in a few hours in a venue that is about a fifth of the size that they could sell out.

So, after the movie, and since I already ate, I thought it would be best to just get over to Stubb’s and get my ass in there.
When I got there, word had spread pretty quickly that the “special guest” was the Foo Fighters and a significant line had already formed but no one was allowed in yet.
Thankfully Stubb’s staff recognize me & quickly escort me in, always grateful for their hospitality.
I couldn’t resist eating again at Stubb’s, so I got a to-go order, ate it outside and shortly after the show started. I didn’t realize that the blue wrist band they gave me would actually allow me to watch side-stage, until I saw some people up there with them on, so I quickly jumped up there as the show was starting.

It was cool seeing them in such a smaller venue than the last few times I’ve seen them, but keep in mind, they were here to play you the entire new record – that’s 11 songs in a row, that you have never heard, that you are about to hear for the first time in a packed live setting. So that can be taxing, but people do it with the hopes that after the agenda has been reached, all bets will be off and they can launch into whatever song they are hoping to hear.
And lucky for them, Grohl, is one of the coolest people there is, and he knows this, so after playing the entire new record – they came back out and did a second greatest hits sets of 10 more songs –