Los Angeles, Sep 4 The Wembley Stadium in London witnessed an emotional tribute to the Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins as the rock band took to stage to honour the memory of the drummer who passed away on March 25 earlier this year, reports Variety.
Two things seemed guaranteed when the great and the good of the rock world gathered at the stadium to pay tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins: One, it would be emotional. And two, there would be drums.
The first Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert (the second is in Los Angeles later this month) didn't take long to deliver on either count.
According to Variety, at 4.30 p.m. sharp (London time), the Foo Fighters emerged and, as Dave Grohl stepped up to speak, the crowd gave him a huge ovation.
As he bowed his head, the applause grew. As he looked to the heavens, a chant of "Taylor! Taylor!" broke out until, eventually, he gathered himself sufficiently to promise "a gigantic f****** night for a gigantic f****** person."
It certainly started big. Liam Gallagher swaggered out and backed by the Foos, with Grohl pounding the drums harder than any Oasis drummer ever did delivered the heaviest, most menacing versions of "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "Live Forever" ever heard.
In that opening address, Grohl noted that "no one could make you smile or laugh or dance or sing like Taylor could." Even now that he's gone, it was clear Hawkins retained that knack, with a cavalcade of stars stepping out of their usual roles to pay homage to the drummer and his heroes.
To salute Hawkins's beloved David Bowie, Nile Rodgers teamed up with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age and Gaz Coombes from Supergrass . And Hawkins' side projects, Chevy Metal and the Coattail Riders, called on guest vocalists Ke$ha and Justin Hawkins (no relation) from The Darkness.
Grohl was everywhere. "I hope you wore comfortable shoes," quipped Grohl, quoted by Variety as proceedings reached the halfway point. "Because we're not even close" to finishing. Inevitably, with such a long show, there were lulls, especially with the largely white, male line-up making few forays beyond the classic-rock canon.
Yet filling Hawkins' shoes was too much for any one person, so drummers from Travis Barker to Roger Taylor's son Rufus to Nandi Bushell, the 12-year-old girl who famously challenged Grohl to a drum-off, filled the seat at various points and most impressively of all, Taylor's 16-year-old son Shane Hawkins put in an incredibly gutsy performance on 'My Hero'.
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