The Good Fight

Here’s a quick rundown on Dave Grohl’s résumé: He was the drummer with Nirvana. That really ought to be enough, but Grohl also fronts the long-lasting and arguably more commercially successful Foo Fighters. This year the grunge-lite, neo-classic rock Foos released their ninth studio record Concrete and Gold.

The album has moments of Queen-like stadium grandeur on album-opening amuse-bouche “T-shirt,” muscle car riffs on “Make it Right” and acoustic moments with ’70s FM radio throwback “Dirty Water.” Elsewhere, “Run” builds to a fevered, hardcore climax, reminding us that Grohl’s still a punk at heart.

Grohl also seems to be one of rock’s nice guys: affable, self-effacing, able to strut around rock music’s largest stages and seem pretty down to earth. That counts for a lot. You can imagine buying a snare drum from him at the local music shop. You’d have no issues if he hung around with your kid, showing them some guitar pointers.

Maybe it’s for this reason Foo Fighters come off flat sometimes. Or that, fairly or unfairly, Grohl rose to prominence drumming with the once-in-a-lifetime, cathartically brutal Kurt Cobain. That’s a hard act follow. Even at their hardest hitting, Foo Fighters are neat and orderly, too sanitized for mass consumption.

Nevertheless, Foo Fighters are a competent gang of contemporary rock ’n’ roll survivors, and they’re hard not to like. After all, they aren’t Nickelback.

These days we need some good guys to finish first, and if that prize goes to anyone, I can think of nobody better than Dave Grohl.

Foo Fighters play 7:30 pm Tuesday, Dec. 5, at Matthew Knight Arena; $52-$102, all-ages.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!