The Foo Fighters Pay Fresno Back For 22 Years Of Nothing [Includes Fresno Setlist]

The Fresnan 5 Comments

Dave-Grohl The Foo Fighters Pay Fresno Back For 22 Years Of Nothing [Includes Fresno Setlist]

“We never fuckin’ played here before? Shut the fuck up. Shut, the fuck up. Are you fuckin’ serious? … Whoops… Sorry.” That was the moment during the Foo Fighters show at Save Mart Center Friday when Dave Grohl realized it took Foo 22 years to play Fresno.

It seemed they may have actually felt guilty because they played an extra long time and more songs than they have been playing on their current Concrete and Gold tour.

It was an amazing rock show. A clinic. This group has been playing a long time and they knew what the crowd wanted and delivered it.

The setlist came dangerously close to my dream setlist, I was shocked they played “White Limo” and really could not have been much happier. Let’s take a look at the Fresno show setlist:

  1. Run
  2. All My Life
  3. Learn To Fly
  4. The Pretender
  5. The Sky Is A Neighborhood
  6. Rope
  7. Drum solo (with Dave & Taylor jam intro)
  8. Sunday Rain
  9. My Hero
  10. One Of These Days
  11. Walk
  12. Let It Die
  13. This Is The Call
  14. White Limo
  15. Arlandria
  16. Times Like These
  17. Breakout
  18. Make It Right
  19. Under My Wheels (Alice Cooper cover sang by Chris Shiflett)
  20. Better Shape Up (Grease)/Jump (Van Halen)/Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones)
  21. Under Pressure (Queen cover, with Dave Grohl drumming and Tayor Hawkins/Luke Spiller [the Struts] singing)
  22. Monkey Wrench
  23. Best Of You (First closing song)
  24. Dirty Water [encore]
  25. Breakdown (Tom Petty cover/tribute) [encore]
  26. This Is The Call
  27. Everlong

Pretty sure I got that right, 26ish songs. Crazy. The show lasted 3 hours and 13 minutes. It did not feel that long at all. When the show let out I thought it was maybe 10:45, but it was Midnight.

I’m not a good enough writer to conjure up all the proper descriptions of what happened during this show. All I can say is it was fucking metal and moving, all at once. Thank you, Foo Fighters, for playing Fresno finally. And thank you, Dave, for not doing the “I don’t call it FresNO, I call it FresYES” joke hack singers use when they play here.

Speaking of Fresno, my favorite part of big shows is when the city is acknowledged by the band and a bit can be made out of it. Here is Dave talking out how the Foo Fighters have never played Fresno, complete with “sad mutherfuckers” and “Times Like These“:

I was super impressed by the stage lighting and video screen, so whoever designed that, kudos. It kept evolving throughout the night and my favorite is when it came down over the stage, creating a ‘roof’ on the stage and giving the show an intimate club feel for a few songs. Very cool.

Anyway, thanks for reading, please leave any Foo Fighter show thoughts in the comments!

Primer For The Foo Fighters Show In Fresno On Friday – Complete With Setlist Hopes!

The Fresnan 2 Comments

img_4290-4 Primer For The Foo Fighters Show In Fresno On Friday - Complete With Setlist Hopes!

Fresno is finally getting the Foo Fighters show we have waited the whole band’s career for! That is a long time. Long. Time.

So, since we here in Fresno may be new to seeing the Foo, we might have some questions and even some demands centered around Friday’s show.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Will they play a Nirvana song? No. Dave has always said Foo would not and they have stayed true to that, with the exception of playing a cover that Nirvana played live.

What special Fresno inspired guest could they bring onstage? This is a move Foo likes to pull off from time to time, get some big local guy or just a special big guest to come out and play one or two songs, even if the performer isn’t rock related. As funny as it sounds, I think they could bring out Timmy T and do a rock version of “One My Try”, might sound kinda nasty (in a metal kinda way).

Why do they have three guitarists? Ok, so, you have founder Dave Grohl throughout, duh. Originally there was also Pat Smear (yes, came over from Nirvana) as rhythm and lead guitar. Pat left the band and was replaced by Frank Stahl. Then Frank left and was replaced by Chris Shiflett, who is the still the current lead guitarist. So you got Dave and Chris. Cool? Cool. BUT WAIT! At some point Pat Smear is like “Wow, guys, remember when I was in the band? Yeah that was actually pretty rad, huh? Good times, good times… Hey, I was thinking maybes, you know, it sure would be cool if I was in the band again. Yeah?” And Dave was like “Cool, whatevs bro, come on back.” And so there were three.

What kind of setlist should we expect Friday? Well, I don’t like to peak at what songs a band has been playing on tour before I see them, so I have not looked. A big show like this is kinda like going to see a Star Wars movie or something; I want to know as little as possible.

I do know that they are playing 22 songs on average this tour. So, I have compiled a sorta dream setlist for Friday’s show that I’m about to reveal, I did it on my notebook because that is how you do nerdy rock band doodles. You know, like when you were in high school and stuff.

You’ll notice I mostly left off songs from the new album, making this setlist-wish unrealistic as they are touring to support “Concrete and Gold.” But hear me out on this, DAVE, (I’m talking directly to you, Mr. Grohl): YOU BASTARDS HAVE NEVER PLAYED FRESNO! We deserve a unique set that reflects that.

So here it is:

img_4275 Primer For The Foo Fighters Show In Fresno On Friday - Complete With Setlist Hopes!

I chose “All My Life” as the opener because it would be cool to have that initial single riff playing to a completely dark arena, can’t see the band yet just hear the riff going for an extended time, until you hear Dave (the place is still dark) recite the initial lines and then BOOM! song kicks in all lights on!

Fuck yes, the Foo Fighters are in Fresno!!

For some reason, there are still tickets available. Please leave your must-hear-live Foo Fighter songs in the comments!!

Fresno’s Place To Be Thanksgiving Weekend!

The Fresnan 6 Comments

Golds Fresno's Place To Be Thanksgiving Weekend!

Welcome back to Fresno, person that moved away and only returns on big days. If you are looking for Livingstone’s to be open so you can run into some girl from High School you haven’t seen in 15-years, sorry it’s still closed – making bathrooms compliant for the 21st Century is not easy. But Stones will be back for you next year *knock on wood*.

So if Livingstone’s is not an option for you, where should you go to find your Fresno people to run into and to brag about how great your life is going in L.A. or Portland?  (Even though we both totally know that L.A. sucks and it was a mistake and you should have just stayed.)

I recommend going to Goldsteins.

Gold’s is the new Audie’s Olympic/Livingstone’s hang out until we can get those two back up and running. I am especially recommending it because they are having a very special Modern Times tap-takeover! This takeover includes kegs of MT beer that you can normally only get in the taproom in San Diego. #stoked

modern-times-bottles-1024x768 Fresno's Place To Be Thanksgiving Weekend!

Being a beer geek, I’m pretty pumped and it is actually enough to get me out of my NW Fresno cave.

If you have been away from Fresno for a while, there are a couple other beer places I’d check out: Spokeasy’s, Pine & Palm, Full Circle and for sure, Tioga Sequoia Beer Garden!

tioga-beer-garden-1024x670 Fresno's Place To Be Thanksgiving Weekend!

While you’re at Tioga you can drive down newly asphalted Fulton Street and roam around trying all the coffee and things. So yes, my recommendation for Thanksgiving weekend is drinking things. Just make sure to get a Lyft and have fun.

Being as it is a thankful time, I’d like to thank you for reading my blog and say sorry for the inconsistency over the past few months. I love Fresno and blogging and I’m glad you are here, so thank you!

The Best Coffee Places In Fresno I Don’t Go To

The Fresnan 3 Comments

img_3947 The Best Coffee Places In Fresno I Don't Go To

I get most of my coffee from the machine you see above. I’m no longer cool enough to live or work Downtown or in the Tower where a greater concentration of Fresno coffee places are.

You might be cool enough though. These are some of the spots I hear people talking about as being good to decent local coffee places.

LANNA COFFEE CO.

I can actually say I have had their coffee because you can buy bags of it for your coffee maker at Save Mart. I remember it being tasty. There is also a high probability of me actually going to their location as it’s down the street from Tioga’s Beer Garden.

VALPARAISO COFFEE.

Automatically cool because they’re inside the Bitwise building on Van Ness. They are also close to beer place. Watch video.

BREW FIX.

These guys can boast that they are on Fulton Street and in the Mural District. They also have a very rad chalkboard map of the United States:

https://instagram.com/p/BazToohlLbR/

HI TOP REVIEW.

Super new, in the Tower District, they make Vans references, old Cafe Corazon spot and are across the street from beer (Goldstein’s). So, worth checking out then.

DALE BROS.

This is historic Fresno coffee. Yet it’s also new. And on Warehouse Row. These are reasons I find them interesting.

img_3949 The Best Coffee Places In Fresno I Don't Go To

(Picture by Emily Redondo)

KUPPA JOY.

Across from Fresno High? Cool. Doors down from Ampersand and Tower District Records. Also cool. Coffee? I hear it’s good.

I GROW TIRED OF WRITING. NEED CAFFEINE.

If you’re thinking “Hey idiot! You forgot Dutch Bros and The Revue and Blah Blah Blah’s!” Please leave a comment on your favorite Fresno coffee.

If you want to hear some of these being discussed, check the 30:40 mark of this month’s Flowing With Famous podcast.

Who Drove Fulton Street Best: Swear Bear or Lee Brand?

The Fresnan 1 Comment

img_3617 Who Drove Fulton Street Best: Swear Bear or Lee Brand?

Yep, amazing. The turnout for the Fulton Street opening was amazing. It was like a Christmas Tree Lane walk night on steroids.

It was a fun and crazy night with so many people it could speak volumes to what the future of Downtown Fresno and bla bla bla blaaaa… let’s talk about the important issue.

Which Mayor of Fresno did the best on their inaugural ride down Fulton Street?

Was it current Mayor, Lee Brand? Or former Mayor, Ashley Swearengin? Watch a brief video of them riding down Fulton (complete with asshat blogger commentary) and lets decide together:

Winner: Swear Bear! It was the pointing to the crowd moment that puts it over the top.

To Finish Up On Fulton Street Day

Keep in mind I am a very odd, introverted person, but I would like to share my favorite little moment of Fulton Street Day, as it shall now be named.

It was not the tacos or the popups (although they were all rad in their own way). It was not the fancy cars or the Ale Trail Festival (although all of our future and current Downtown breweries are making excellent beer). It was Grizzlies Stadium. The Chuk.

Because of this:

The-Chuk-768x1024 Who Drove Fulton Street Best: Swear Bear or Lee Brand?

They had the gate open to let people in to watch the Astros game on the Jumbotron and to use the facilities. Only four people (outside of the workers) were taking advantage. It was a little slice of relaxing heaven given the crazy amount of people on Fulton. A nice place to recharge the batteries. So thanks for that, whoever decided to do that.

Looking forward to seeing what happens to the spaces on Fulton. If you have a favorite takeaway from Fulton Street Day, please feel free to leave it in the comments.

An Open Fulton Street Allows Fresno To Move On

The Fresnan 2 Comments

Fulton-Street-Before-1024x669 An Open Fulton Street Allows Fresno To Move On

I didn’t want this. The Fulton Mall open to traffic.

I wanted the mall to be cleaned up. I wanted the art refurbished. I wanted the fountains to be working. But I didn’t want cars. That wasn’t possible.

It became “street or the same”. The same was a bad option. Same was an ignored Fulton Mall with little to no working fountains, forgotten art and too many people not comfortable with parking in garages and lots where they can’t see their car.

So I then begrudgingly became a supporter of traffic returning to Fulton. Better a shiny new sidewalk with working fountains and freshly polished art, than overgrown trees and neglect with no end in sight.

Saturday is the big thing-a-ma-jig to celebrate Fulton Street opening. For me, it will be more of a wake for Fulton Mall. But, it will be one of those fun wakes. The kind where you have a couple drinks and celebrate the life the person lived. Just, in this case, the person is a concrete open-air mall.

At Least Fresno and Downtown Can Move On To Other Things

We have debated what to do with the Fulton Mall for over a decade on Flowing With Famous. It’s going to be weird no longer needing to talk about it. Sure we still need to watch how the shops and restaurants will do now that there’s traffic. But we all get to move on now.

What is next? What should Fresno tackle now? Chinatown maybe? It will (fingers crossed) get a Hi-Speed Rail Station. That could be the push Chinatown needs to start getting some much-needed attention and renovation. It’s my pick anyway. Leave a comment on what you think the next project Fresno needs to tackle.

In the meantime, we have a wake to attend. I’ll see you out there. I hear they’ll have beer and it’s a safe bet it will be tough to get a parking spot.

Shameless Harrison Ford Tangent Ahead!

BTW, the Draggin’ the Main theme gives me yet another chance to use one of my favorite clips from American Graffiti, a movie about life growing up in the Central Valley in the 50’s (Modesto to be exact), so it’s relevant to Fulton Street, mmka?

A movie with, none other than Mr. Harrison Ford. Please tell me Bob Falfa dragged Fulton once:

*Pic was stolen from here.