Foo Fighters Stand Strong, Paramore Rocks and Bops to Wrap Bonnaroo

Foo Fighters-6.jpg — Foo Fighters
Photo: Rob Hinkal

“Did you just say ‘Happy Father’s Day’?” asked Dave Grohl. “Aw, shit!”

He was talking to his daughter Violet Grohl, who joined him during the closing set of Bonnaroo to sing “Shame Shame” and “Show Me How” — two songs she’d performed on in the studio with Dad’s band, the Foo Fighters. He’d introduced her as his “favorite singer in the world,” she’d sung well and she was now trying to get backstage while still looking cool. As a cartoonish lilt crept into his voice, Papa Grohl’s mile-wide grin stretched just that much further as if to say, “What good is being a parent if you can’t embarrass your kids just a little?”

The Foos were nearing the end of their stuffed-to-the-gills, they’ll-have-to-drag-us-off-this-stage set Sunday night when this moment neatly exemplified the “dad” portion of the “dad rock” label that’s stuck pretty firmly to the band. There were plenty of other moments that showed off the “rock” part, too. A little earlier, Paramore’s Hayley Williams came bounding out of the wings to sing “My Hero,” which preceded “This Is a Call” for a superb combo of shout-along anthems. The Motörhead-esque “No Son of Mine” near the beginning, “Breakout” around the midpoint and “Monkey Wrench” near the end offered ample opportunities for as much head-banging and pogoing as Bonnaroovians could muster after four days of baking in the sun, and the group sent the audience back into the real world with warm wishes and the hard-driving riffage of “Everlong.”

Foo Fighters are at an inflection point. It’s the first time in more than 20 years that they’ve settled into touring behind a new album — their 11th LP But Here We Are, released June 2 — without beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died while the group was on the road in March 2022. Acknowledgements throughout the night of Hawkins and his impact on the Foos included dedicating “Aurora” to him. Marked by gorgeous interlocking guitar parts, the song — from 1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose, the band’s first album after Hawkins joined — has been a relative rarity at Foo Fighters shows in recent years. Grohl told the crowd it was Hawkins’ favorite of their songs, and that it’ll be played at each show on the tour.

It would be something of a surprise if Grohl & Co. didn’t keep playing, as part of grieving their loss as much as anything else. Being a pro musician is what most members of the band have been doing for nearly 40 years, and the Foos have been together for almost three of those decades. Grohl started the band after Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the end of Nirvana; sadly, Hawkins isn’t the first friend and bandmate whose death he’s had to process.

The band introduction segment put the spotlight on fellow guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel and keyboardist Rami Jaffee. Grohl asked the audience to give “a big, loving, warm welcome to the person that helped us be here to play for you tonight,” saluting new drummer Josh Freese — an absolute beast of a player whose mile-long CV includes tenures with Nine Inch Nails and Devo. You can’t replace a comrade, but it’d be hard for the Foos to find someone more appropriate to add to their roster.

The hometown heroes of the aforementioned Paramore made their return to Bonnaroo — originally intended for the 2020 festival, following a 2018 appearance that frontwoman Williams noted that the band still talks about — bringing rock ’n’ roll to the dance floor as the sun headed for the horizon. The group is one of the best live acts on the road, but somehow still flies under the radar in discussions of touring. The permanent members and touring players mesh seamlessly, and Williams consistently delivers outstanding vocal performances while hardly stopping to catch her breath; it seems that once she gets going, she doesn’t know how to stop.

The set list treated both casual fans and die-hards with equal respect. The band bounced between classics like emo staple “That’s What You Get” and their 2013 gospel- and R&B-inspired hit “Ain’t It Fun,” and songs from their latest album This Is Why, like Williams’ self-effacing jam “Running Out of Time” and the hard-hitting titular tune. Standouts from 2017’s After Laughter appeared, as did songs from Williams’ solo album Petals for Armor and drummer Zac Farro’s band Halfnoise. As Williams told the crowd, Paramore may have been “a soap opera” sometimes, but they remain a blockbuster hit you’d be sorry to miss.

Makaya McCraven-8.jpg — Makaya McCraven
Photo: Rob Hinkal

Bonnaroo is far from a jazz-forward festival, but Makaya McCraven held it down at This Tent early on Sunday afternoon. The Chicago-based bandleader, composer and producer led his quintet — featuring saxophone, trumpet, guitar, bass and McCraven himself on the drum kit — from deep in the pocket as the set unfolded, reveling in their blend of modern jazz, hip-hop and soul influences. The crowd was locked in, too, especially attuned to tasty licks from guitarist Matt Gold during a stripped-down trio piece that he played with McCraven and bassist Juinus Paul. In a festival famous for rock and hip-hop — and lately, EDM — the dreamy, jazzy set was an excellent changeup to get the final day underway.

Men I Trust-7.jpg — Men I Trust
Photo: Rob Hinkal

A bit later as the hot sun beamed down, Canadian dream-pop trio Men I Trust gave the crowd at That Tent a set to chill to. They began with “Show Me How” from 2019’s Oncle Jazz, a song that grew popular on TikTok. Starting with your biggest hit can be a risk, but the trio didn’t drop a stitch, as the attentive crowd kept on grooving through the entire set of trippy guitar solos and distorted disco jams. Crowd favorites “Sugar” (from the excellently named Untourable Album) and “Hard to Let Go” packed a funky punch, with the audience swaying along — or, in one case, doing some interpretive hooping along with the silky synths. The vibe was “Tame Impala meets Beach House,” the perfect soundtrack to a sunny summer afternoon.

Conversely, a sense of menace lurks throughout the Pixies’ distinctive catalog. Sometimes it’s an undercurrent and sometimes explicit; sometimes it’s bleak, and sometimes playful. As the sky darkened over That Tent in the brief lull between Paramore and the Foo Fighters, the band — which has been in its present form since bassist Paz Lenchantin joined as a full member in 2016, officially taking over the spot vacated by Kim Deal — leaned into the creepiness. They opened with the brooding “Gouge Away,” followed by the eerily cheery “Wave of Mutilation.” Frontman Black Francis entered an Danny Elfman-ish mode on occasion, while guitarist Joey Santiago’s lead lines zapped and sparked ominously. This energy wound through the tight set, from their cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On,” to “Haunted House” from last year’s Doggerel, to the sing-along to Doolittle’s “Hey!” that reached well into the field outside the tent.

Throughout Sunday, festival organizers issued notes of caution about the potential for severe weather in the evening, though clear skies persisted until sunset. A brief drizzle greeted the Foo Fighters as they approached the stage, almost as if on cue. It petered out by the end of the second song, and held off until shortly after midnight when a downpour began, starting to wash away the dust of yet another Bonnaroo.