So said one Dave Grohl, rock polymath, Gen X saint, f-bomb enthusiast and Foo Fighters frontman, to 50,000 happy fans at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday night.

The show was not only the first on the Australian leg of the band's Sonic Highways tour, but also marked the 20th anniversary of the first ever Foo Fighters gig, and the five-piece - including one-time Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear - were in the mood to celebrate.

Something for Nothing, the lead single from the 2014 Sonic Highways album, was something of a low-key start for a stadium show, but ripping into The Pretender straight afterwards got the crowd heated up, and the evergreen Learn to Fly had them jumping.

Grohl dedicated Breakout to the "crazy f---ing Aussies" and embraced not only the long thrust stage which pushed out into the seething pit, but got up close and personal with drummer Taylor Hawkins, falling to his knees at the foot of Hawkins' kit.

By now the band had set up a pattern of expanded bridges, full of spiralling freestyle and heavy on the whammy, giving band members a chance to show their skills and have some fun with a large back catalogue.

The pounding, anthemic My Hero fired up the crowd and Grohl divided the audience in two, listening to each sing the chorus.

"It's f---ing nice to be back," Grohl said afterwards, taking a breather to tell the story of how he came to be arrested after the Gold Coast Big Day Out in 2000.

The legacy of that fateful day means every time Grohl goes through customs in Australia, he has to explain his criminal conviction was for driving a rented moped while under the influence. Grohl described it as "rock and f---ing roll" before dedicating the cheesy, feel-good Big Me to the "hardworking Gold Coast police".

Congregation and the popular Walk were next, before Hawkins took over singing duties on Cold Day in the Sun. Grohl's description of him being "possessed by the ghost of Freddie Mercury" was a hint of things to come.

In the Clear and Arlandria seemed to be classic "toilet break tunes", before Monkey Wrench ramped things up again. Another extended jam ended with the stage going dark, and Grohl's screeching vocals blasting out the "One last thing before I quit…" bridge without accompaniment. The band kicked in for the closer, and the crowd was left panting.

Skin and Bones and Wheels gave everyone a chance to catch their breath, with the songs performed by Grohl on acoustic guitar at the front of the thrust stage. "The guys in the front row can stare at my ass," he told the crowd.

Times Like These started acoustically, but Grohl was joined by the band halfway through on a circular platform in the middle of the thrust. The positioning was the best of the show, forcing the five into close proximity, and giving a real sense of the comraderie between them.

It worked particularly well for the bracket of covers the band launched into: Stay With Me by The Faces was thrown to Hawkins, allowing Grohl and Smear the opportunity to sink a few Crownies before they gave a nod to local heritage with AC/DC's Let There Be Rock.

Spotting a sign in the audience, Grohl indulged an audience member's request. "He's the only one who's going to like this song… but he's got braces and made a sign on his home computer," he said, as the band launched into Tom Sawyer by Canadian prog rockers Rush. It did seem to bamboozle the rest of the crowd, but the band performed it with delight.

Grohl reflected on losing battle of the band competitions at school, but now being able to play the songs that inspired him to become a musician. The instantly-recognisable riff of Under Pressure then rang out, and the crowd went wild.

The Queen/David Bowie composition had everyone singing along, and while the cover had a messier edge than the perfectly orchestrated original, it was done with love and was one of the highlights of the night.

A philosophical argument could be had about whether Under Pressure's acclaim reflected poorly on the enduring legacy of Foo Fighters songs, but perhaps it would be best thought of as a reflection on the supreme talent of Queen and Bowie. Grohl is a fine guitarist and Hawkins' a blistering drummer and singer, but no doubt they would bow down before Brian May, Freddie Mercury and the Thin White Duke.

The final bracket of songs were all Foo Fighters favourites, a trip down memory lane for Gen X-ers and top end Gen-Ys to a time when they bought their formative music favourites on CDs and actually knew most of the songs on the Triple J Hottest 100.

All My Life, Outside, These Days and Generator had the crowd pumping, before This Is A Call, the first ever Foo Fighters single, the one where Grohl's post-Nirvana life began. It was a justifiable fan favourite.

"We don't ever really say goodbye, we just say this…" was Grohl's parting adieu to the crowd, a cue for Everlong, the lullaby love song that becomes more endearing with every listen. It was a satisfyingly sweet ending to a "long f---ing night" of sweaty rock.