Dave Grohl was a special guest at Joe Walsh’s VetsAid fundraiser last night (Sunday November 13) and took the opportunity to drop in and perform with two iconic groups: the Breeders and The James Gang.
The Foo Fighters’ frontman pitched up on guitar and vocals with the Breeders for raucous interpretation of frontwoman Kim Deal’s iconic Pixies’ track, Gigantic. The performance saw Deal (who usually plays a rhythm guitar role in Breeders) swap back to bass temporarily, leaving guitar duties to bassist Josephine Wiggs and her regular foil, lead player Kelley Deal.
Grohl, meanwhile, showed up wielding his distinctive signature Gibson DG-335 (itself based on Trini Lopez’s 1967 signature guitar) and, amusingly, stole the song’s iconic opening wails from under Deal’s nose.
Grohl also got the chance to appear during the James Gang’s set during standout hit Funk #49 – a favor returned, given Joe Walsh reformed the group for appearances at both the LA and London stints of the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins tribute shows. This time the Foo Fighters’ man was seated on the drum throne of a second kit on a riser behind the group’s own sticksman, Jimmy Fox.
Fan shot footage of both performances has since surfaced and seems to show Walsh in particularly fine form leading the percussive, funk-laden breakdown.
The night was the latest of Walsh’s VetsAid shows. The fundraiser was established in 2017 and has since raised over $2,000,000 for a variety of veteran’s charities.
The 2022 event was pitched as an ‘all-Ohio’ line-up, featuring solely groups who have a connection to the state, including Nine Inch Nails, the James Gang (which Walsh put together during a formative period in Cleveland), The Breeders and The Black Keys. Grohl, meanwhile, originally hails from Warren, Ohio.
Check out the footage of both performances above and head to the VetsAid site to learn more about the event.
