In New York City on Wednesday night, The Foo Fighters broke their usual stance and played an encore for their fans, which included a special guest appearance by Red Hot Chill Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
The song they chose to perform for the encore was “Stay With Me,” a song made famous in 1971 by English rocker Rod Stewart, during his time with the band Faces, according to Rolling Stone.
So, why did the Foo Fighters break their usual ‘no encore’ stance?
Well, according to Spin, throne-bound Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl explained, “The only reason why we’re doing [an encore] tonight is because f—king Chad is here!”
Smith took over the drums for “Stay With Me,” following some good-natured teasing from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who would be taking over the lead vocals for their joint rendition of the Rod Stewart classic.
“He’s gonna break my shit tonight,” Hawkins remarked in a fan-shot clip, according to Rolling Stone.
Although, it was an extravagant and well-done performance – with Hawkins handling Stewart’s raspy vocals impressively – we are happy to report that fan shot video shows that Hawkins’s drum kit stayed intact, even through Smith’s barrage of beats and crashing symbols. Other highlights of the performance, included: an extended jam session, and a vamp that featured Grohl and Smith reminiscing about the 1999 tour, in which the Foo Fighters opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Smith recalled that 1999 tour, as being the moment when “we learned to be a band.” After which, Grohl chimed in with his own recollection of that same tour, and for the Foo Fighters frontman it was, “sure as hell when we learned how to party.”
Check out the performance, below, via two fan shot videos.
This first fan shot video features a very good look at what was happening onstage, but some of the audio is distorted. And, the second clip has good quality audio, but lacks slightly in the visual quality, because it was shot from the audience and centered on the live feed that the band had sent to their projection screens. However, the two taken together do provide a cohesive representation of what went down onstage when The Foo Fighters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers teamed up to cover “Stay With Me.”
The Foo Fighters are continuing on their tour in support of Sonic Highways, after being forced to cancel series of shows in Europe when Grohl broke his leg during a concert in Sweden. A broken leg and a cast have not deterred the frontman, however, as he returned to the stage perched on a throne of rock star proportions some three weeks after the incident for the Foo Fighters 20th anniversary concert.
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