Day 1August 18, 11:26 p.m.
Singer Dave Grohl calls from Chelmsford, England, moments after the band's headlining set at the V Festival.
"Dude, we just rocked the shit out of this place. There's nothing better than being in a huge field as it's pissing down rain, with 85,000 drunk English people singing along to your songs. It's the greatest feeling in the world.
"I love it here. My first time in England was about 20 years ago, with my hardcore band Scream. Way before Nirvana. It was so gray and drab - we'd just play squats and eat shitty food. The whole place seemed sad. Now everybody's
happy and beautiful - it's like the Sunset Strip. This weekend's a little too cold and rainy for me, but it's nothing some Crown Royal won't cure.
"Now we're gonna go have a dance party with the rest of the people on the bill. Pink is here, Kanye West, the dudes from Jet. Pete Doherty's here, too, but he's not invited. Later, everybody is heading up to Staffordshire, where we're playing tomorrow. I want to carpool with Kanye. He has to be the designated driver, though, because I'm getting fucked up."
August 19, 6:26 p.m.
Drummer Taylor Hawkins checks in from Staffordshire a few hours before the band plays V Festival day two.
"Man, I'm exhausted. I just had a baby, so I take sleep where I can get it, but last night was rough. We drove four hours to Birmingham, checked in to our hotel at 4 in the morning, then left right away so we could get here by 10 to play this little secret breakfast show on one of the small stages. We played acoustic, real loose - it's a good way for Dave to warm up his voice. We played under the name 606. I'm not sure what it means - probably some of Dave's crazy UFO shit. I wanted us to be called Meatwallet. Or Gary.
"I'm gonna grab a quick nap and start getting ready for the show tonight. It's nasty here: freezing cold, mud everywhere you step, water flying in our faces. The sun's going down now, and there's a little evilness in the air. I hope we don't get attacked."
August 20, 4:34 p.m.
On the band's day off in Scotland, guitarist Chris Shiflett phones with acomplaint.
"Hey, I was thinking about it: Why is this thing called 'Collect Call'? I'm talking to you on my dime, pal!
"Last night's show was way better than the night before. Dave's mom even came onstage to say hi to the crowd - she used to bea teacher, so she knows how to work a room. We did have one casualty: Dave smashed his head on the side of a bass drum. He had this big welt on his forehead - between that, his beard, his long hair and the rain, he looked like a homeless guy who'd been beaten up by another homeless guy. He had kind ofa Bumfight vibe going on.
"We're in Edinburgh now. There's some kind of crazy street festival happening - I just saw a bunch of Chinese people in traditional costumes break-dancing outside our hotel. I haven't even showered yet. I think I'm just gonna take it easy. Have a nice dinner, maybe see a play, and hit the steam room to sweat out all the mud."
Day 4August 21, 10:57 p.m.
Hawkins rings us after another triumphant Foos set, this time in Edinburgh.
"Edinburgh is definitely alive right now. Real circusy. We cruised around that festival for a while this afternoon, saw a lot of dudes with kilts and bagpipes - mimes and shit like that. A lot of drunken Scotsmen. We grabbed lunch at the Pig and Thistle or something and then went to check out this ancient castle in the middle of the city. It's totally Braveheart. Awesome.
"Last night I tried watching the movie Running With Scissors, but it was bumming me out too much; I had to turn it off. This tour is hard, man. I'm enjoying the shows, but I'm hating everything else with a passion, I've got a week-old son at home who I've barely seen. My wife just called and told me I missed his first bath. Meanwhile, I'm halfway around the world, eating shitty-ass Domino's and drinking root beer by myself in a hotel room. It's devastating."
August 22, 5:22 p.m.
Bassist Nate Mendel calls us a few hours before this evening's show at a cricket stadium in Dublin.
"Last night was great. We played with Nine Inch Nails and Silversun Pickups, who were both awesome. And the promoters gave us each customized bottles of Foo Fighters-brand 17-year-old single malt scotch. It's actually Glenmoyer or Glenlochen or something - one of those Glens - but it's got our little FF logo and everything.
"Yesterday was our tour manager's birthday, so after the show we had a party for him. In his room. With the liquor from his minibar. Like, 'Happy birthday! Here' a bill for £400 worth of booze!'
"Actually, we haven't really gone all-out since the first night here, when we got blasted on Jäger bombs with a bunch of crusty old punks at this dive bar in London. I think it was called the Crowbar - it was the kind of place Lemmy would go. We've been recovering ever since. But we're in Ireland now; if there's gonna be a night of going out and getting totally hammered, this is it."
August 23, 11:14 a.m.
Grohl dials us from Dublin with an update - and some news.
"The show last night was amazing. Rolling hills, beautiful Irish greenery. Nine Inch Nails opened for us, which I still don't believe. And afterward we saw our friend Norah Jones. She was in town for a show, so we met up at the hotel bar, smoked a few cigarettes and drank way too much Crown and Coke. That girl will do a shot, lemme tell ya. We finally quit around 4 in the morning - I know when to pack it in.
"Speaking of which, we're going home. We're supposed to tape some songs for an English TV show tomorrow and do a surprise set at the Reading Festival, but yesterday we just kind of looked at each other and said, 'Fuck it!' We've played eight shows in six days, been freezing cold and soaking wet, done a million hours of press. We miss our families, and we've only had one day off. Worst of all, my voice is totally shot from screaming my balls off every night.
"Sometimes there comes a point when you realize you re actually being detrimental to your career by staying on the road. This is one of those times. So we're headed to the airport."
Day 7 August 30, 8:40 p.m.
After a week of being incommunicado, Grohl phones from the set of an L.A. photo shoot for one final wrap-up.
"Long time, no talk! Man, I'm so glad we came home. I've just been parked on the couch all week, eating pizza and watching Top Chef reruns. Actually, that's not true. I've been waking up at 7 every morning with my 16-month-old daughter. I missed her like crazy - the first thing I did was run inside and tickle her for, like, an hour. Yesterday we had a Mommy and Me playdate, and over the weekend my wife and I took her to a baby pool party. We're totally part of this little baby community. It reminds me of the hardcore scene.
"Twenty years ago, rock never seemed like a career decision for me, I just did it to get away from working at the furniture warehouse. Now I'm settled down with a beautiful woman and a beautiful kid, and my music pays the rent. It's really all I ever wanted." [ewer]