Foo Fighters, with an assist from Wolfgang Van Halen, pulled off a memorable prank on their fans during their headline performance at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona. The band was concluding their tour across the United States and decided to inject some playful energy into their set.
In the midst of their performance, the Foo Fighters included a guitar solo, immediately followed by brief renditions of classics like the Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’, Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Pop’, and Nine Inch Nails’ ‘March of the Pigs’. After this eclectic mix of covers, Dave Grohl, the band’s frontman, humorously lamented his lack of solo opportunities. He proclaimed to the audience, “You know who never gets a fucking solo? Me! So, tonight, I’m taking my moment!”
Grohl appeared to begin a solo from Van Halen’s iconic ‘Eruption’, but as he triumphantly threw his hands in the air post-solo, the music continued. The camera then revealed Wolfgang Van Halen offstage, masterfully continuing the solo. Grohl jokingly scolded him, exclaiming, “Dude, I told you to keep that cool, Wolfie! What the fuck are you doing right now?” before prompting the crowd to applaud Wolfgang. Wolfgang briefly played ‘Hot For Teacher’ by Van Halen before Grohl playfully chased him offstage, hinting they’d be unable to stop if they delved further into Van Halen’s hits.
In a touching tribute, Grohl dedicated the song ‘My Hero’ to both Wolfgang and his late father, the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Additionally, during the concert, Grohl took a moment to honor another music industry icon, the late record producer Steve Albini. Albini, renowned for his work on albums like Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ and Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’, had recently passed away due to a heart attack at his Chicago studio, Electronic Audio. Grohl dedicated ‘My Hero’ to Albini as well, telling the audience, “Tonight I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend that we lost the other day, who I’ve known a long, long time. He left us much too soon. He’s touched all of your lives, I’m sure. I’m talking about Steve Albini. For those of you who know, you know. For those of you who don’t, just remember that name: Steve Albini. Let’s sing this one for him.”
