Foo Fighters shred day one of Hangout Fest, but the ladies rule the day

Foo Fighters shred day one of Hangout Fest, but the ladies rule the day
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 17, 2015

he Foo Fighters took their role as Friday headliners at Hangout Fest seriously, pulling out all the stops in a two-plus hour set on the main stage.

“We’re going to play as many songs as we can until they kick us off the f*cking stage,” rock god Dave Grohl said early in the band’s set — and he delivered on that promise. The Foo Fighters played 19 songs, from their biggest hits to a couple covers including Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” They dragged out some intense solos and breakdowns in almost every major song, bringing the crowd to the point of exploding a number of times before dialing it back.

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Hangout Fest 2015 brings bands -- and DJs -- to the beach

Hangout Fest 2015 brings bands -- and DJs -- to the beach
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 14, 2015

Grimy Goods contributor Mark E. Ortega is embarking on a six-week music festival tour around the United States. After a stop at Shaky Knees in Atlanta, Mark’s next stop is Gulf Shores, Alabama for Hangout Fest. Here’s a preview of the festival below.

There’s that old saying about how you shouldn’t bring sand to the beach — but they never said anything about bands (or DJs). Hangout Fest is a unique festival in that it takes place right on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with most people (myself included) staying in condos that are located near the festival entrance.

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Foo Fighters deliver special performance at exclusive iHeartRadio Theater LA gig

Foo Fighters deliver special performance at exclusive iHeartRadio Theater LA gig
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
March 18, 2015

If there’s any American rock ‘n’ roll band that deserves the red carpet treatment, it is the Foo Fighters.

That is exactly the feel their St. Patrick’s Day show achieved on Tuesday night at the iHeartRadio Theater LA — or “just down the street” as Grohl put it midway through their rocking set.

Mixing in songs from their latest release Sonic Highways along with some old classics, Grohl and his band first spoke to Chelsea Handler in a 10-minute interview. Handler kept responding to people shouting out from the crowd, perhaps a little too used to her standup work where that is common place.

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Foo Fighters make live rock n roll history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum

Foo Fighters make live rock history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 11, 2015


It is hard to guess how the Foo Fighters could ever top what they did last night at The Forum to celebrate lead man Dave Grohl’s birthday. Billed as Dave’s birthday bash, the show that was announced Thursday saw nearly a dozen special guests show up and play with the Foo Fighters. They played nearly four hours and totaled 31 songs (view the entire set list at the bottom of the page), an unbelievable show that will be hard to top for the best of 2015 – and we are just in January.

Things kicked off with Paul Stanley of KISS joining them for “Detroit Rock City” and “Do You Love Me.” Slash and Tenacious D came out to help with Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” as balloons rained down on the stage (scroll down to watch the videos).

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Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum

Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 7, 2015

The Foo Fighters have announced that they will be playing a charity show on Jan. 10 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Arguably the No. 1 American rock band going right now, the Foo Fighters have some September dates lined up at the Honda Center and The Forum as part of their Sonic Highways world tour, but will be playing a special show this Saturday. Tickets are $50 + fees (totaling $65.30) on Ticketmaster and are on sale at 7 PM PT on Jan. 7, with some of the proceeds going to the Rock School Fund.

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Foo Fighters close final day of Life is Beautiful on an ultimate high

Foo Fighters close final day of Life is Beautiful on an ultimate high
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 30, 2014


“We haven’t played here in a long f*cking time,” Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said early on in the final performance of Life is Beautiful’s three-day festival in downtown Las Vegas. “So you know what that means? We are about to play a bunch of songs we normally don’t get to play. And we’re going to play as many songs as we can until they shut us down.”

Grohl made good on those words, as the band played beyond when the posted set times said they’d finish up. He was also right – it had been six years since the Foo Fighters played Las Vegas – at the Hard Rock’s awesome in-door venue The Joint.

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An interview with Craig Nyman: Get to know Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas

An interview with Craig Nyman: Get to know Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 9, 2014


Last October, Las Vegas played host to the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival — a two-day fiesta of music, art, food, and learning that took place on the city streets of the rejuvenated downtown Strip. The festival was such a success that this year’s festival has been expanded to include a third day and will take place Oct. 24 through Oct. 26, headlined by Kanye West, Foo Fighters, and Outkast.

This has made extra work for Craig Nyman, the Head of Music and Live Performances for Life is Beautiful, who is tasked with putting together the music lineup along with Another Planet Entertainment for the unique and up-and-coming festival. After talking to Nyman for this feature, it became clear immediately that the additional workload was exciting rather than stressful.

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