The band Dave Grohl couldn’t stand touring with: “They didn’t give us a guest list”
Dave Grohl said the Foo Fighters were treated like second-class citizens while supporting the Rolling Stones on a 1997 stadium tour. His account highlights the sharp divide between an opening act and a headliner, even when the support band is building a profile of its own.
The Foo Fighters had released *The Colour and the Shape* that year, which reached number three in Britain and included “Monkey Wrench” and “Everlong”. Grohl said the Stones’ touring operation gave the band no guest-list places, offered 100 tickets for them to buy at $64 each, and put them in a trailer rather than a venue dressing room. The article notes that the treatment may have come from the tour’s wider organisation rather than the Stones themselves.
In short
- Grohl said Foo Fighters were treated as second-class support.
- They had to buy tickets for guests at $64 each.
- The band used a trailer instead of a dressing room.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A headliner has to manage a large, costly production and may reserve scarce tickets and venue space for its own crew, guests and sponsors. From that perspective, the Foo Fighters’ experience may reflect tour logistics or decisions by staff rather than deliberate disrespect by the Rolling Stones, and a support act can reasonably expect less access than the main attraction.
The case against
Even on a tightly run tour, denying an established support band any guest-list places and providing only tickets to buy could reasonably feel ungenerous and dismissive. The Foo Fighters were helping fill stadiums and had a successful album that year, so treating them with basic consideration would have recognised their contribution and supported a respectful working relationship.
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