Foo Fighters rock the Hollywood Bowl with Dudamel and the LA Phil

Two songs into the Foo Fighters show at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, Aug. 22, singer-guitarist Dave Grohl paused to acknowledge the special nature of this night backed by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“First of all, I don’t know if you know, Foo Fighters never played the Hollywood Bowl before; this is our first time at the Bowl,” Grohl said after the slow burn of “Times Like These” and primal roar of “All My Friends” had kicked off the night.

“Usually in this part of the program, I ask the audience if they love rock and roll music,” he continued as the band played the opening riff of “The Pretender” over and over behind him. “Do you love rock and roll? Do you love rock and roll?

“OK, but tonight I’m going to ask this question for the first time,” Grohl said as the cheers of this packed house of rock-and-roll-loving fans died down. “Do you love Dudamel? Do you love Dudamel? Me, too.

“So let’s play some rock and roll for Mr. Dudamel now,” he finished. “That’s what we came here to do.”

This penultimate night of Dudamel’s 17 years as conductor and music director of the L.A. Phil was every bit as special as anyone might have hoped, with the Foo Fighters and Dudamel and the orchestra combining for a spectacular night of orchestral rock and roll.

Unlike some past nights at the Bowl, when the rock act on stage overwhelms the orchestra behind it, here the Foo Fighters and the Philharmonic matched each other perfectly in power and passion.

Some of that’s certainly due to the orchestral arrangements of the 15 Foo Fighters songs performed over an hour and 40 minutes on Saturday. At times, band and orchestra blended together into a glorious beauty; in other moments, one or the other dropped out of the mix to let the rock band or orchestra shine on its own.

Some of it also stemmed from song choices. While Foo Fighters played many of the biggest hits, Grohl also noted they’d pulled some deep cuts from the catalog because they’d work so well in an orchestral setting.

“A320,” for instance, had only been played live 10 or so times since its 1998 release on the “Godzilla” soundtrack. It opened with the cinematic beauty of the orchestra’s shimmering strings before the Foo Fighters’ guitars, bass and drums joined in.

Fan favorite “My Hero” provided one of those moments bands and fans alike love to share at this historic venue. “This song was made for the Hollywood Bowl,” Grohl shouted near its end. “You better sing!”

The voices of thousands singing the chorus of the song acapella came back at him from the boxes and benches above.

Midway through the show, a choir of 10 singers in red, blue and yellow robes came out for “The Sky is a Neighborhood,” transforming it into a fantastic gospel-rock-and-orchestral stunner. After “Run,” the choir left and the Foo Fighters reached into the past for a pair of the deepest cuts of the night.

“I Should Have Known” opened with the orchestra beneath a long, gorgeous violin solo, the Foo Fighters joining in after several minutes as the strings in the orchestra soared throughout.

“Razor,” which Foo Fighters hadn’t played in 20 years, followed with Grohl accompanying himself solo on acoustic guitar as woodwinds including flute, clarinet and bassoon got spotlights over soft clouds of violins, violas and cellos.

You could tell Grohl was having the time of his life on stage with the orchestra throughout the night.

“Gustavo, how’re you doing?” he asked at the end of “Razor,” looking back at Dudamel, who grinned as he nodded that, yes, he was doing well. “So I figure we just get 14 more buses and take [the L.A. Phil] on tour for the rest of our lives. Good plan?”

You could also sense his delight in his frequent request to turn the house lights on so he and the band could see the 17,000 or so fans who packed the amphitheater all the way up the hillside.

“Dan, light ’em up the hill!” Grohl shouted during his introduction to “Aurora,” which the Foo Fighters play every show in tribute to the late drummer Taylor Hawkins. “Let me see everybody. Let’s make a big noise for Mr. Taylor Hawkins. He would have loved this.”

As Grohl started to introduce “Best Of You,” he noticed guitarist Pat Smear and bassist Nate Mendel passing a bottle.

“Are you guys drinking champagne?” he asked mock-accusingly as Mendel passed him the bottle, from which he took a long pull. “It’s a celebration,” Grohl added, passing the bottle back to Smear, who held it up as a toast to Dudamel, who grinned and gave him two thumbs-up.

“Best Of You” unfolded with orchestral sections bookending a long Foo-only rock-and-roll middle section that gave drummer Ilan Rubin a chance to not only show off his chops behind the drum kit but also the way his black curly hair took flight just like Dudamel’s had during his earlier years with the L.A. Phil.

“Home,” which hadn’t been played since 2005 and, according to internet sources, the band has only ever played five times, left the band and orchestra and choir with one final song to play.

“I wish we could do this every [bleepin’] night for the rest of our lives,” Grohl said, occasionally strumming his guitar strings as he spoke. “With all of these amazing people. I mean, c’mon, whether it’s Gustavo, the choir, the orchestra, you have to give it up for the actual musicians tonight.”

Long, loud cheers fall from every row of the amphitheater.

“What an honor to come and be invited to this hallowed ground, this special place,” Grohl continued. “To be able to give Gustavo one more big rock show before he has to leave this wonderful city. And then to share this experience with all of your guys. It’s so amazing.

“And thank you, everybody. Dan, light ’em up, let me see the top of the hill, that’s what I’ve got to see. Look at that, it’s like a whole ‘nother ZIP code. Is that the 818, is that what’s going on?”

Laughter joined the cheers now.

“So, we’ve always found that the best way to say goodbye isn’t to say goodbye at all,” Grohl said. “We just say this.”

The opening riff of “Everlong,” one of Foo Fighters’ signature songs, launched another round of cheers and screams, and the band rocked, the orchestra soared, fireworks blasted above the bandshell.

The night sky lit with a rainbow of color, bringing to a close a marvelous Hollywood Bowl debut for Foo Fighters while leaving Dudamel with one last show as head of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Sunday.