Hello... I've waited here for you....

EVERLONG!

Oh... Hi there, Mr. Grohl. It's 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep.  And there is only one reason.  You, sir.  You and your friends, the FOO FIGHTERS.

I wanted to take a few moments to perhaps tell you why, if you can spare a little time?  I know you are well on your way to Walla Walla, Washington for the show that you are going to play there in less than 24 hours... but I have to get this off my chest.  Okay...where to begin, where to begin?  Okay... how about I start with this...

YOU ARE ONE AMAZING MOTHERFUCKER! I...

What?  Hold on Mr. Grohl...

My wife is telling me that despite you calling me a "motherfucker" all night as a term of endearment... I can NOT return the favor.  Even though I PROMISE I mean it as such.

Can I at least call him Dave?

Okay; She says I can call you Dave or Mr. Grohl.  (Look, I have to make sure I get this squared away now, since she has told me flat out that I am just "Dust in the Wind" if you ever decide to swing by my Calgary home and offer to take her away.  And really... I couldn't blame her.  You are Dave MOTHERFUCKING Grohl!  *Ahem*)

Me in the hat, My beautiful wife, and my "Brother from Another Mother"who helped make this possible!

Moving on...

I have always enjoyed your music and appreciated your talent, but I was one of the few thousand "motherfuckers" in the Dome that was watching you for the first time live. As was my wife... but you can't hold that against her the way you would me.  She is a national reporter and her job takes her all over the world at moments notice.  Many times, in many places, your paths have never crossed despite her best efforts.

I bought these tickets for this show as a surprise for her, kinda forgetting that she really loved you.  So when the cat was finally let out of the bag... she squealed like a little school girl.  Delight really doesn't begin to describe what she was feeling.

Anyway, just hours ago you gave the city of Calgary a show that I don't think it has seen... EVER.

2 hours and 30 plus minutes of in-your-face-melting-rock-and-roll, mixed with awesome power ballads and crowd engaging conversation that displayed a TRUE love for what you do and an internal promise to keep an oath that ensures no one leaves one of your shows without getting at LEAST their money's worth.

You have no idea how much I respect that. You have no idea how much I LOVE that.

Does this man love his job or what?

The problem Dave... is that you fucked up my neck!

That's right. You fucked up my neck and I want to know if you think just because you fell off that stage in Sweden and broke your leg, that now means you can go around the world, fucking up other people's body parts?

How did I do it?

Well it started right off the top I suppose.

I was very excited to hear my favorite Foo Fighters song "Everlong", (Jeebus, what gave THAT away, right?) since that was the first song my now wife and I listened to, together when I learned that she liked the Foo Fighters (acoustic version, but still)

And BOOM!  There it was... kicking off the show!  I am singing my heart out along with you. (pardon the "near" lyric steal there...)  I just KNOW this is going to be an amazing night.

You follow that up with more of your classics, and drop in a great tune from your latest album called "Something for Nothing".

I am thinking to myself... "HOLY SHIT, what the hell was I waiting for to see these guys?"  Just moments later, you gave me SHIT for not coming out to see you sooner.  As though you were reading my mind.  (Not only can you steal my wife if you want Dave... I discover you are PSYCHIC?  NOT FAIR!)

But then it happened.  When you did the real damage.  It seems apropos, considering what I just mentioned. How I had "All my Life" to see you before and never took the time?  And I could feel it coming when you started into it.

"All my life I've been searching for something, something never comes never leads to nothing
Nothing satisfies, but I'm getting close, Closer to the prize at the end of the rope..."

You laid into that song with some very tasty licks and - while my wife was facing the stage and I was standing behind her- I was bouncing and thrashing my head round and round in time with you while you were screaming out those lyrics...

"DONE, DONE, ONTO THE NEXT ONE"
"DONE I'M DONE AND I'M ONTO THE NEXT ONE!"

And then I felt it... A little "pop" in my neck.

Now understand sir, that it didn't stop me from enjoying the show.  Hell, it didn't even stop me from enjoying the song as I kept thrashing my head along with you right to the bitter end.

Once it was over I began to feel my neck and started to think to myself; "Oh man, this is REALLY going to hurt later."

And as I was drinking my wobbly pop to try to easy the pain, I started thinking that if YOU can make it through a show on a broken leg... then I can make it through the rest of this night with a messed up neck. (Even though I don't have Johan from Sweden to put my vertebrae - I think it is C3 or C4- back in place)

Handicapped seating at the Saddledome... MUCH better than expected.

And besides... I don't wanna miss what is coming up next, right?

Damn skippy!

You took us "motherfuckers" through the rest of the show. You had a great laugh WITH and not AT the mullet guy. (Can you believe that motherfucker's hair, Dave?  Seriously.  Wow... just... WOW!)

And look, I KNOW you were playin' the crowd.  Tellin' us we were the loudest you have ever heard.  And we ate it up and gave you everything we had.  And THEN some.  I screamed my lungs out. I stomped on the stands.  And you sat their in your throne with all those "Lazers and shit" ("Kids stay in school, don't do drugs.") and for just a second on that big screen I looked in your eyes... and for a moment I thought that you believed we really WERE the loudest crowd you had ever heard.

Photo:Andy Leblond "Kids, stay in school. Don't do drugs."

And once again I saw that joy on your face... on the faces of the entire band, for that matter.  The joy you get when you KNOW you have done what you have set out to do and have accomplished your goal.

To you, Mr Grohl, to the Foo Fighters... a job VERY WELL DONE.

Now Dave... if I were to give this a "rating" of sorts... I would give this night 4 and 3/4 Foo Fighter Thrones out of 5.  The ONLY way this night is any better for ME, is if Everlong was done acoustically (I am a romantic softie, sue me Dave)... and if I didn't screw up my neck (That part of the night is on me... I should have done some stretches or something in anticipation.)

You may not care because, in the end, I am just one of those "motherfuckers" in the stands tonight... but I wanna let you know that I WILL be back to see you all again.  And I'm sorry for missing those earlier opportunities.

It won't happen again.

Photo:Andy Leblond