In the time that the Foo Fighters have been around, a child could have been born and grown up to be a teenager, headbanging at one of their concerts.

What a fast 14 years it's been.

And by Dave Grohl's estimation, that means it's time to behave more like a full-fledged member of the classic-rock club. "We don't play these teensy-weensy hour-and-10 minute sets," he said. "We're not the hot new band..."

No, Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center, the Foo Fighters gave fans their $47 worth with a blistering two-and-a-half-hour set complete with a midway ramp that led to an auxiliary acoustic stage, a la Aerosmith and the Stones.

Before he even struck a note, Grohl was greeted by a worshipful crowd that saluted him not only for writing songs like "My Hero," but for being the drummer of "[bleepin'] Nirvana."

After wallowing in that ovation for a while, the statuesque frontman hit the opening notes to "Let it Die" and the Foos were off into quiet-to-loud heaven, this time with a stage full of eight players, including a cellist who somehow bowed through the sonic storm.

The first third of the show was one raging rocker after another -- "Pretender," "Times Like These," "Learn to Fly" -- that found Grohl balancing melodic verses with explosive choruses and guttural screams. An early surprise was a cover of Mose Allison's "Young Man's Blues" that ventured into Aero-Zeppelin territory without ever quite scaling those lofty heights.

After an extended "Stacked Actors," showcasing the mad drumming skills of Taylor Hawkins, The Foos stormed the second stage for an unplugged session that really didn't rock any less than the main stage one. It allowed the talkative Grohl to get closer to the fans, and share a hilarious story about how he and his Pittsburgh native mother, then living in Virginia, used to meet their Ohio relatives midway for summer vacation -- in Breezewood! "I would spend the weekend eating KFC and watching 'The Carol Burnett Show.' "

Highlighting the acoustic set was a crowd sing-along of "My Hero" that was as galvanizing as anything at a Springsteen show. "But, Honestly," from the new album, was a tour de force that went from tender opening to thunderous build. The masterstroke, though, was the gorgeous "Everlong," delivered by Grohl alone on guitar -- up until the surprise jolt of electricity from the band back on the main stage that sent Grohl running across the room for the rousing climax.

For the last few songs -- "Monkey Wrench" and "All My Life -- the Foos seemed to find another gear, one perhaps called "punk rock."

The encore set went on for a half-hour, the highlights being a rare version of "Aurora," with the night's most intricate, jammy guitar work, and a scorching cover of "Bargain," sung by Gaz Coombes from the excellent opener Supergrass, that blew away The Who version.

Grohl has had to come a long way to get out of Nirvana's shadow. On the "Echoes" tour, no one's looking back.