Stewart Copeland gets his Foo on, Grohl fishes for laughs - just another night on Foo Fighters tour

For the first of two shows at the L.A. Forum, the Foo Fighterspulled out all the stops Wednesday night, playing for more than two hoursstraight — enough time to fit in a full acoustic set and most of their20 hits — then bringing down the house with a surprise appearance byStewart Copeland, drummer for the Police. "It only took 13 f—ingyears to get here," said a humbled Dave Grohl as he surveyed the sold-outcrowd. "And this ain’t no bargain show. This is the show whereeverybody who has to work tomorrow is f—ed."

True to his word, Grohl made sure everyone was entertained, not onlyby the music and his spastic sprints into the crowd, but also withseveral hilarious tirades, one aimed at his own band members and theirvirgin experiences at the Forum. He mocked Chris Shifflet because the guitarist’s first concert there was hair metal extraordinaires Whitesnakewith Quiet Riot, while Taylor Hawkins didn’t fare much better withBoston, nor did keyboardist Rami Jaffee with Rush. Guitarist Pat Smear,on the other hand, got major props for having seen the Rolling Stoneswith Stevie Wonder as an opening act way back in 1972. Grohl didn’tspecify what his first Forum show was, and I have a feeling it mighthave been when Nirvana played the venue in late 1993, which would makethis the second time he’s viewed the worn but legendary room from thestage.

The momentous night was made even more memorable by an unexpectedlate-set cover of the Police’s "Next to You" with Copeland on drums."He’s one of my mentors," said Hawkins, who took over microphone dutiesand handled Sting’s part with aplomb (though he did improvise some ofthe lyrics). So that would make a total of three monster drummers onone stage — and likely a whole lotta youngins in the crowd thinking,"Hey, isn’t that the song from Rock Band, the game?"