The Foo Fighters hosted the first of two tribute concerts on Saturday to their fallen drummer Taylor Hawkins. The six-hour show at Wembley Stadium in London featured numerous music luminaries including Paul McCartney, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Stewart Copeland of The Police, The James Gang, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Travis Barker, Them Crooked Vultures and Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May, among many others.
“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we’ve gathered here to celebrate the life, the music and the love of our dear friend, our bandmate, our brother Taylor Hawkins,” said Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl as he stood next to his bandmates to kick off the show.
“For those of you who knew him personally, you know that no one else could make you smile or laugh or dance or sing like he could. And for those of you 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 f*cking night for a gigantic f*cking person. So, sing and dance and laugh and cry and f*cking scream and make some f*cking noise so he can hear us right now. ‘Cause you know what? It’s gonna be a loooong f*cking night, right?”
Following many guest spots, the Foo Fighters took the stage to perform their own songs for the first time since Hawkins’ passing. Dave Grohl tearfully began the song “Times Like These,” and the singer paused briefly as his voice cracked. The audience cheered him through the difficult moment, and soon after the band rocked out to the tune. A cast of rotating drummers including Josh Freese, Travis Barker, Nandi Bushnell, Rufus Tiger Taylor, Omar Hakims and lastly, Hawkins’ son Shane who played on “My Hero.”
Shane arguably stole the show, and his performance went viral shortly after the show aired on Paramount and YouTube. Many reacted to the highly touching performance. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian said: “Shane Hawkins played like it’s his throne. Not a dry eye over here. Cheers Shane.” Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider posted: “Holy sh*t. Chills. Just chills. Beautiful.”
The second Taylor Hawkins tribute show is set for Sept. 27 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Guests announced for that show include many that appeared in London and also Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx and Chad Smith.
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