Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert: Wembley Stadium, London – live review

Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert
Wembley Stadium, London
3rd September 2022

A show that everybody wanted to attend was the show that nobody wanted to have had to attend. Simon Reed reports from a six-hour tribute that delivered a multitude of stars and even more emotions.

Rock and roll is a dangerous business. Sadly, the list of names and the talent tragically lost in its pursuit through excess and misadventure could fill a telephone directory. As a result of some challenging lifestyle choices, many of the entries have been grimly predictable. One which wasn’t was that of Taylor Hawkins. A devoted family man with an extraordinary talent, he was the engine room of one of the biggest bands in the world. Outwardly at least, Taylor had everything to live for; his smile was only matched by the sparkle in his eyes. And so, on 25th March this year, when the news of his death broke, the music industry and his millions of fans were struck with disbelief as much as grief.

What might happen to Foo Fighters long-term is undecided. In the short term, Hawkins’ life and love of music were remembered on 3rd September at Wembley Stadium in front of a sell-out audience of 90,000 people. A second tribute is scheduled in Los Angeles on the 27th of September. It will have a hell of a lot to live up to.

Dave Grohl, flanked by the other four members of the band opened the show with a heartfelt dedication to their drummer and friend. Speaking without notes Grohl didn’t falter, despite the obvious emotion felt throughout the entire stadium. Dave promised, “A gigantic fucking night for a gigantic fucking person”.

A gigantic fucking night for a gigantic fucking person really needs a gigantic fucking ego to kick it off and the show had one in the shape of Liam Gallagher. Backed by the host band, he performed Rock And Roll Star and Live Forever, surely two songs which could have been commissioned specifically for this event. He was the first in a conveyor belt of performers who held a personal connection with Hawkins, or whose music the drummer specifically admired.

The list was an A-Z of talent from across the globe with a revolving door of drummers that inspired and amazed in equal measure. Two other bands with whom Taylor performed were also reunited; Chevy Metal and The Coattail Riders. The former play dirty 1970s rock covers and were joined by pop queen Kesha. During the T-Rex classic Children Of The Revolution, she demonstrated a microphone swinging technique so violent even Roger Daltrey might have thought twice. She also proved she can damn near swallow one, a feat I suspect Daltrey hasn’t attempted. After an absolutely incredible performance, she stood up, demurely whispered “Thank You” and exited stage left.

The Coattail Riders were fronted by the irrepressible Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, resplendent in a silver glitter catsuit unzipped to his pubic bone. “We are The Coattail Riders from Los Angeles” he said, as only a man with the word ‘Lowestoft’ tattooed across his midriff could.

Between acts and set changes, there were monologues, either in person or via video screens. Actor and comedian Dave Chapelle spoke of seeing Taylor with his son Shane for the first time and witnessing what a loving father he was. The cameras picked up Shane who was at the side of the stage. He was holding it together, a commendable act under the circumstances. Via video, Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith told how a percussion store in Los Angeles believed Taylor had been a victim of credit card fraud. In fact, he had been privately and secretly buying equipment for aspiring drummers. It was one of many other stories which revealed the character of the man.

Whilst obviously a tribute to Hawkins, there were many reminders of others who have sadly gone before. In an oblique nod to Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson played guitar and Grohl’s daughter Violet sang a stunning version of The Zutons Valerie. It was a sparse arrangement which felt like an interlude after what had gone before, though 90,000 backing vocalists helped fill the sound. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush were reunited for the first time since the passing of legendary drummer Neil Peart and Wolfgang Van Halen delivered his father’s fretwork in consummate style on Van Halen tunes On Fire and Hot For Teacher. As he walked off stage the cameras briefly caught Wolfgang and Shane Hawkins embracing in the wings. It was a beautiful, unscripted moment.

Other afternoon highlights included The Pretenders with a trio of songs, concluding with Brass In Pocket and more of the community singing. Dave Grohl played the bass for these, prompting Chrissie Hynde to ask if there was anything he couldn’t play. I imagine if you gave him a watering can, he’d get a tune out of it.

Stewart Copeland was a massive hero to Taylor and it was a joy to see his famous side grip and hear his equally famous tight snare sound backing the rest of Foo Fighters. Gaz Coombes of Supergrass came on to sing Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. His vocal was about as far removed from Sting as you could get, so it did sound a little weird compared to the original.

Coombes was understandably more comfortable knocking out Supergrass tunes. As ever, there was a connection to Taylor. We learned that during a US tour with the Foos in the 1990s, Hawkins used to replace drummer Danny Goffey when they played Caught By The Fuzz. Supergrass obliged by playing it again tonight and when the opening piano chords of Alright rang out the place erupted.

The London day had started with oppressive clouds and sharp showers but as the afternoon rolled on the clouds were replaced by milky blue skies and watery sunshine. If you believe in such things, it was nice to think of it as a pathway opening up between the tribute and its recipient. Once the sun started to concede to several thousand watts of stage lighting, events on stage ramped up even a few more notches.

Lars Ulrich and Brian Johnson joined the house band for AC/DC classics Back In Black and Let There Be Rock, which brought all of Wembley to its feet. Johnson still most certainly has it. He didn’t really need the backing vocals of an entire football stadium, or indeed those of Justin Hawkins who reappeared in shocking pink for what looked like an impromptu verse of Back In Black.

In another video interlude, we saw Taylor during a Foo Fighters gig delivering Freddie Mercury’s classic call and response singing routine. It’s easy to think of him as ‘just’ a drummer, but he had a fabulous voice too. Of course, the crowd responded to his vocal and watching Taylor lead 90,000 people in Wembley Stadium was another lump in the throat moment. There wasn’t time to dwell on it, however, because the stage lights came up and under the spots were Brian May and Roger Taylor, and with them the intro to We Will Rock You. Hawkins’s adoration of Queen (his favourite band) and of Roger Taylor, in particular, is well known, so it was a given that their music would be featured here.

Luke Spiller of The Struts sang We Will Rock You. Spiller, who has an exceptional stage presence, oozes Freddie Mercury from every pore and was an obvious choice to front the first song. Taylor Snr then gave way to son Rufus behind the kit so he could sing I’m In Love With My Car. Rufus Taylor was sporting flowing blonde hair and a moustache and looked disarmingly similar to Hawkins behind the kit. The revolving door of Queen vocalists continued with Justin Hawkins back on in his pink jumpsuit for Under Pressure and in an inspired choice, Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder sang Somebody To Love. Ryder is an absolutely astonishing vocalist and if Adam Lambert were ever to bow out of the current live embodiment of Queen, surely Ryder could do it.

Brian May closed the Queen songs in isolation from the end of the runway with Love Of My Life. Anybody who has seen him do it in Queen and Adam Lambert shows in the absence of Freddie will know what an emotional experience this is. Performing in the absence of Freddie and Taylor took it to another level. May made reference to the iconic Wembley Queen performances of the 1980s and the Freddie Mercury Memorial Concert on the same stage almost exactly 30 years before. “We said goodbye to Freddie in a style similar to this” he said, “But I know Freddie would be very happy to use this song to honour Taylor”. May asked for mobile phones to light up the place and the audience duly obliged. It was a truly beautiful sight.

In an afternoon and evening of superlative supergroups and musical collaborations, there was of course only one way to close the show, and that was with a performance from Foo Fighters themselves. In so doing, for the first time, we all truly felt the experience of the loss of Taylor Hawkins.

A clearly very emotional Dave Grohl came to the microphone but did not speak. The longer he paused, the louder the reaction from the crowd, and thus, the harder it was for him to start. In the end, he didn’t speak at all; he sang. He opened the climax to the show with the stunning live A cappella version of Times Like These. Part way through the second chorus he broke down, though to get that far was an act of astonishing stoicism. The crowd gently filled the gaps in the vocal. Music is a cathartic release. Perhaps the best there is. When the full band joined in, the release came in a single drum beat and Dave roared, as perhaps only Dave can.

Foo Fighters’ set featured a number on the throne at the back. The session drummer’s session drummer, Josh Freese opened things up. For The Pretender and Monkey Wrench, Freese was replaced by Blink-182’s Travis Barker in what was an incredible few minutes of drumming pyrotechnics. Learn to Fly was played by the astonishing 12-year-old Nandi Bushell, as Grohl put it: “One of the most badass drummers I’ve ever met in my life”. Her viral drum battle video with Grohl during the Covid lockdown has been viewed on YouTube over four million times. Rufus Taylor was back for These Days and Best Of You.

Grohl took a break to introduce a special guest and was joined by Chrissie Hynde once again. Only this time, she brought Sir Paul McCartney along too. If you’re going to commemorate a legend, you bring a legend. Much has been made of the apparent frailty of McCartney’s voice since his Glastonbury appearance but he sounded extremely assured on the Beatles classic Helter Skelter, a song you deliver at full pelt, or not at all. For this, and Aurora which followed, Omar Hakim kept the beat.

The final song of the night with the full band had a guest drummer that surpassed everything seen before. “It makes sense that the next young man drums with us” said Grohl, and out came Taylor’s son Shane who we’d seen several hours earlier receiving a hug from Wolfgang Van Halen. He played what else, but My Hero; and he did it perfectly. The poise and bravery he displayed was one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen. You have to hope that Taylor could see and hear this moment.

There was one final interaction with the audience from Grohl before he finished the show in isolation with Everlong: “We hope that you guys felt the love from all of us and all of the performers. Because we felt it from you, for Taylor tonight.”

A few hours earlier he had asked: “The last few days we have been asking ourselves the same question after every rehearsal: ‘I wonder what Taylor would think of this – to see all of these amazing people together making music?’”

He would have absolutely fucking loved it. You did him proud.

Proceeds from the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts go to Music Support, a charity chosen by The Hawkins Family. You can donate to the charity via Just Giving here.

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All words by Simon Reed. His website Musical Pictures is here and you can visit his author profile for Louder Than War here. He tweets as @musicalpix

Photography by Kevin Mazur, Scarlet Page, Sean Cox, Danny Clinch and Oliver Halfin.

Source: louderthanwar.com