Loose Gig Shows Foo Fighters’ True Colors

Considering that he’s the leader of the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl spent a lot of time during the band’s show Friday at the Palace not front and center.

First there was a bikini-clad woman dancing out of a fake birthday cake (Grohl turned 31 Friday). Later he handed over his microphone to a fan who jumped on stage and asked to do a song his brother wrote. And in the encore, Grohl went to the drums (his place in Nirvana), while drummer Taylor Hawkins stepped up to sing Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar.”

Ironically, all that helped put Grohl in the best light. Nearly five years and three Foo albums removed from the end of Nirvana, Grohl inevitably, if unfairly, is still often compared to Kurt Cobain. If Cobain is remembered as his generation’s John Lennon, Grohl can come off in some respects as its Paul McCartney, in the sense that he’s a winning song-smith and engaging entertainer--though he can seem a bit glib, and the polish of his power-pop anthems can obscure any depth or artistry.

So the rough edges Friday--a tour warm-up gig to benefit the AIDS-related Alive and Well organization--helped chip off that gloss, revealing the heart of such songs as the ode to growth “Learning to Fly” and the yearning “Everlong.” Late in the show Grohl joked that the “real” shows will be more professional. But Friday’s free-flowing tone is exactly the way to let people see him for who he is, rather than who he is not.