The 3:00 pm hour belonged to Royal Blood, the English rock duo comprised of Mike Kerr (bassist/singer) and Ben Thatcher (drummer). The thunderously heavy distorted sounds of rock and roll shook the standing room only main amphitheater stage, impressing everyone with how sturdy and impressive an English duo could be. Opening with “Where Are You Now,” the band played other well-known favorites in “Lights Out,” “Come on Over,” I Only Lie When I Love You,” “Little Monster,” and the obvious hit of the 8-song set, “Figure It Out,” played with incredible intensity as bodies took flight above the audience.
As the sun finally set bringing a much-needed sense of relief, Cage the Elephant hit the amphitheater stage at 6:00 pm sharp. The Grammy-winning rock band (2017s Best Rock Album for Tell Me I’m Pretty) delivered a dominant performance, opening the 15-song set with a heart-and-soul version of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” a tribute to Tom Petty. The crowd-pleasing songs included hits like “Trouble,” “Cold Cold Cold,” “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” “Shake Me Down," and “Come a Little Closer." The commanding frontman Matt Shultz sang and danced passionately — all the way down to his boxers from a three-piece suit with tie. It. Was. Epic!
One of the most poignant moments of Cal Jam 17 was during the set of the Queens of the Stone Age. Frontman Josh Homme caught a glimpse of a sign in the crowd and requested it to be passed forward. Raising the signboard above his head, it read: “Vegas Strong.” Handwritten on the back were the names of all 58 country music fans killed at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas. Homme declared over the crowd’s loud cheers, "We are nothing when we’re apart, we are everything when we are together. Let's have the f*cking time of our lives.” After prominently placing the sign by Jon Theodore’s drum kit, Homme announced, “Dance with Me!” and proceeded to deliver a roaring career-spanning 15-song set.
Spearheading the final set of the night, Grohl asked for the house lights to be turned up so he could see the massive crowd. The Foo Fighters then proceeded to execute two hours of cutting-edge rock flawlessly. Grohl opened their headlining set with a solo acoustic favorite, “Times Like These,” as the rest of the band joined him intermittently on stage. ”I know you love rock & roll music,” Grohl said. “We've got a lot of f*cking records. It's going to be a long f*cking night!”
The Foos' setlist was a mix of old and new material. Some of the massive hits performed during the 22-song set, ”Times Like These," "All My Life," "Learn to Fly,” "The Pretender,” the substantial Tom Petty tribute, “My Hero,” and the crowd sing-along rock anthem, "The Sky Is a Neighborhood." One of the highlights was when drummer Taylor Hawkins sang his song from Concrete and Gold, “Sunday Rain.”
The Foo Fighters also invited a few surprise guests to take center stage; lead singer Alison Mosshart from The Kills and jazz saxophonist Dave Koz who performed "La Dee Da,” a new song from Concrete and Gold that features both artists on the LP recording. Having fun with the audience in true Foo Fighters’ fashion, the group invited the British pop artist Rick Astley on stage for a popular mash-up of Astley’s 1987 No. 1 hit song, “Never Gonna Give You Up" with the Nirvana iconic grunge hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Dave Grohl & Co. continued to surprise and delight fans when Aerosmith’s guitarist Joe Perry appeared on stage for a Foo Fighter cover of Aerosmith’s 1977 “Draw the Line,” along with a performance of the Beatles’ “Come together.” Also contributing their talents to the time-honored 1969 song, was former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, and Concrete and Gold record producer Greg Kurstin who performed a free jazz piano solo. Wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, Gallagher, in an unusual move, leaped into the audience for a bit of a crowd surf. The Manchester native performed his solo-set earlier in the day (Grohl made a cameo appearance during Gallagher’s set) on the CalJam17 main stage. Liam Gallagher did not disappoint his fans, playing songs from his Oasis days, as well as several songs from his new solo album, As You Were.
Aside from the music, the jam-packed daylong marathon also included carnival rides, a giant skate ramp with a team of professional skateboarders, and a mobile Gibson Recording Studio, where visitors could create a one-of-a-kind 7-inch vinyl demo (replete with backing band).
