Shane Hawkins Joins on “I’ll Stick Around”

“We’ve been in this band so long, we really are a family,” Dave Grohl said during Foo Fighters’ headlining show at Boston Calling. “And our families are with us tonight, because we need to do this together.”

Grohl was speaking right before he played a solo rendition of “Cold Day in the Sun,” a song he used to sing with the late Taylor Hawkins. On Wednesday earlier in the week, he’d dusted off the track for the first time in five years, giving an emotional performance during Foo Fighters’ warmup show in Gilford, New Hampshire. “I tried to do it the other night, and I’m gonna try to do it again,” Grohl said on Friday (May 26th). “And I’m gonna do it for Taylor’s family, and I’m gonna do it for Taylor.”

While he was able to get through it this time without choking up, the emotional sentiment was no less powerful. It was made even more impactful because immediately afterwards, Grohl welcomed out “one of my favorite drummers in the world,” Hawkins’ son, Shane. The teenaged drummer had demonstrated his chops during the tribute shows for his father, but as poignant as those performances were, there was something uniquely affirming about Shane’s appearance at Boston Calling.

He joined the band for “I’ll Stick Around,” one of the songs he played during the Los Angeles Hawkins tribute. After spending some time adjusting new Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese’s kit (“Oh my god, there is a curfew Shane!” Grohl joked while he vamped about missing The National and hearing “the audience going absolutely fucking bonkers” for Niall Horan), he slammed into the song, even cutting off Grohl’s introduction. Head-banging and making faces like he was actually eating the notes, the young Hawkins demolished the drums like a seasoned pro.

It wouldn’t be surprising if in a few years there was another Hawkins on the permanent Foo Fighters lineup. Which is why his performance was so heartening — more than playing in memory of his father, he was playing like he was making a name for himself. It’s hard not to be in the shadow of your parents when they’re as famous and beloved as Taylor Hawkins, but Shane has proven he’s capable of standing out on his own.

And he wasn’t the only young family member to join in for the Foo Fighters big festival “comeback” appearance: Violet Grohl, Dave’s delicate-voiced daughter, was also on hand. She was introduced prior to the “Cold Day in the Sun” performance, echoing her dad on “Shame Shame” and then sitting on the drum riser for “Rope.” The elder Grohl is known as one of the most energetic and engaging front-people in music; the teenaged Grohl didn’t try to match his energy, but just about showed him up with her vocals.

There was also, of course, another noteworthy new member of the Foos family: Freese. Wearing a shirt that read, “Fingers crossed for the new guy,” the journeyman drummer didn’t try to “replace” or “fill in” for Hawkins. That would imply he was attempting to recreate what the late musician brought to the band. Instead, Freese seemed to be asserting his presence, pounding the kit with all his might.

With his tight, fiercely firm drumming, Freese gave Foo Fighters a new dynamic. They sounded more raw and weightier than they have in years; “Best of You,” for example, sounded stuffed, rounded, fuller than usual. It seemed like everyone else in the band was playing more ferociously just to keep up, to the point where Grohl had to laugh, “I just beat the fuck out of my guitar, I had to get another one,” after “Breakout.”

To be clear, this is not to say Freese made Foo Fighters sound better or worse than they did with Hawkins behind them. That’s a ridiculous statement and a ridiculous thing to even consider. Simply, Freese is a different drummer than Hawkins was, and you can hear that distinction in the band’s current setup.

Similarly, the band responds differently to Freese. There weren’t quite as many long, freestyle jam outs; when they did come, as on “Breakout” and “Best of You,” the other musicians looked to the drummer with a bit more tension than they had with Hawkins. That’s to be expected, of course, you’d expect them to keep a closer eye on someone with whom they’re less familiar. Things will surely click into place as the Foo Fighters’ massive run of summer festivals continues (find tickets here), and again, the fact that they’re all warming up to each other in no way means they weren’t up to snuff.

In fact, this was an incredibly encouraging show in terms of the future of the band — as if their new album, But Here We Are, hadn’t already given the Foo faithful hope. Pat Smear was as joyful as ever, smiling ceaselessly, mugging over the live-feed camera, and playing so close to Grohl during “Aurora” their strumming hands looked at risk of collision. He also welcomed Freese with a The Vandals riff during the band intros, which is also where Rami Jaffee, playful as ever, ate up the crowd’s applause during his own solo. Everyone seemed happy to be back together on stage, and excited to gain more experience with their new drummer.

Especially Grohl. It’s impossible not to consider the significance of opening with “Rescued” into “Walk,” or to feel the different weight of “Times Like These” or “My Hero.” Grohl himself noted it, continually pointing out that the meaning of these songs have changed because of recent events. Still, Grohl was up their cracking wise (“I know it’s embarrassing to hear your parents sing a song. Tough shit,” he ribbed as the crowd sang “Breakout” back at him), raising his hand to strike up the audience’s screams, and welcoming everyone in attendance as kin.

“It takes a lot for every single one of us on this side of the stage to be here, and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of you,” he said by way of introducing closer “Everlong.” “For years, we always play this song instead of saying goodbye, because I hope we never do.”

If the rest of their summer schedule goes like Boston Calling did, it will only solidify the notion that although the Foo Fighters family has changed, it hasn’t collapsed. Even with their beloved longtime drummer gone, Foo Fighters need never say goodbye.

Photo Gallery – Foo Fighters at Boston Calling 2023 (click to enlarge and scroll through):

Foo Fighters at Boston Calling Setlist:

Rescued
Walk
No Son of Mine
Learn to Fly
This Is a Call
Times Like These
Under You
The Pretender
The Sky Is a Neighborhood
Breakout
My Hero
All My Life
Shame Shame (with Violet Grohl)
Rope (with Violet Grohl)
Cold Day in the Sun (Dave Grohl solo)
I’ll Stick Around (with Shane Hawkins)
Best of You
Monkey Wrench
Aurora
Everlong