Man… what a night.
Smiles, tears, rock and roll… it was a night to remember at London’s Wembley Stadium as Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters, along with a number of famous friends came together to honor the late, great drummer Taylor Hawkins.
The first of two tribute shows (the second will be in Los Angeles), the concert aired live and will continue to be streamed on-demand starting tomorrow, September 5th.
According to Pitchfork, a number of guests were on hand including Them Crooked Vultures, who reunited for the first time in 12 years, Nile Rodgers, Omar Hakim, Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Kesha, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Police’s Stewart Copeland, the Pretenders, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Supergrass, and Wolfgang Van Halen, and more. Dave Chappelle and Jason Sudeikis were even on hand to give introductions.
Dave Grohl opened the show with some heartfelt words about Taylor and the mission for the night:
“Tonight we’ve gathered here to celebrate the life, the music, and the love of our dear friend, our bandmate, our brother Taylor Hawkins. For those of you who knew him personally, you knew that nobody else could make you smile or laugh or dance or sing like he could.
For those of you who admired him from afar, I’m sure you’ve all felt the same thing.
So tonight we’ve gathered with family and his closest friends, his musical heroes and greatest inspirations to bring you a gigantic fucking night for a gigantic fucking person.
So sing and dance and laugh and cry and fucking scream and make some fucking noise so he can hear us right now.
Cause you know what? It’s going to be a long fucking night, right?”
Amen.
One of the more poignant moments of the night, and there many, was when Dave broke down during “Times Like These.”
However, watching Taylor’s son 16-year-old Oliver Shane absolutely own that drum kit during a performance of “My Hero” was equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring.
I can’t imagine that there was a dry eye in the room during that performance… just an incredibly powerful rock and roll moment.
Check it out:
Proceeds from the concert will be split between Music Support and MusiCares, both of which are charities chosen by the Hawkins family.
The second concert will take place at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27th.
RIP Taylor Hawkins.
