“I think I lost my way. Getting good at starting over every time that I return.”

The Foo Fighters are still at the top of their game. Twenty-three years later, as their creator and leader Dave Grohl reminded the crowd on the first of two sold-out nights in the World’s Most Famous Arena, they still rock as hard as anyone. And most times, they rock harder. Propelled by Taylor Hawkins on drums and Grohl’s growl, the band pumped out 23 song, three hour set that left nothing to be desired.

The genius of Grohl and his band is that they give you a little bit of everything. Not only do they play songs from their entire catalog, but they sprinkle in cover songs (even mash-ups), guests and even some comedy. He came from D.C. and was weaned on that city’s Hardcore scene before blowing up Mtv with Nirvana. But the man who leaped from behind the drums to pick up the guitar and microphone now fronts a fine-tuned machine that pumps out Arena Rock that is a pure blend of Hard Rock with just enough Pop to get anyone off and keep them going all night long. Think of Heisenberg’s blue ice. This is what you want to get your rocks off.

The band kicked off the night at Madison Square garden with All My Life, Learn to Fly and The Pretender. After three songs from last year’s Concrete and Gold album that included a solo from Hawkins where his drums were elevated on a hydraulic platform about thirty feet about the stage, Grohl and the rest of the band (Nate Mendel on bass, Pat Smear on guitar, Chris Shiflett on lead guitar and Rami Jaffee on keyboards) launched into hit after hit.

“Learning to walk again. I believe I’ve waited long enough”

Smooth Jazz saxophone star Dave Koz joined the band to reprise his role on La Dee Da from the last album. This was followed by a great mush-up of John Lennon’s Imagine and Van Halen’s Jump that featured Jaffee on keys. Lennon was ideal for the New York City crowd and Van Halen was the perfect lead-in to Dave’s remarks.

“Make no mistake ladies and gentlemen. This is an arena rock show.” And with that the band welcomed Luke Spiller, lead singer of opening act The Struts to the stage to duet with Hawkins on Queen and Davie Bowie’s classic Under Pressure. From here, they sprinted to the finish with a five-song flurry that included two more from their latest alongside mega-hits Monkey Wrench, Breakout and Best of You.

Before returning to the Garden’s stage for the encores, Dave and “the drummer” teased the band about how many songs they would do. They finally agreed upon three. But of course, after treating their fans to two from the debut album and Times Like These, they had one last song to play. The beauty of the Foos and Grohl is that like the great arena rock bands of the 80s, they don’t disappoint you by leaving out any of the hits. And so, with everyone on their feet and lights raised, 20,000 plus rabid fans turned Everlong into the sing-along that allowed everyone in the arena to let their hair down one last time, forget about the world outside and feel free to rock out. That’s the power of a Rock show and the best damn band on the road

“Now, for the very first time don’t you pay no mind. Set me free, again”