The live show Dave Grohl called too good to be true: “I thought I was in a dream”
The way die-hard Nirvana and Foo Fighters fans feel about Dave Grohl, is largely the way he feels about every musician that came before him. Despite being heralded as one of the modern gods of rock, he’s not preoccupied by protecting his coolness with underhanded observations of his fellow musicians. Instead, he takes every single opportunity to geek out over their very existence.
It’s somewhat hard to comprehend, given just how influential Grohl has been towards the shaping of modern music. Aside from becoming the prince of dad-rock with Foo Fighters, he has a well-established legacy in the pantheon of great drummers. In fact, one of the very things that catapulted Nirvana to rock royalty was the raw power Grohl brought to every single drumming performance on their records.
One of the many drummers who influenced that style was, of course, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. While Grohl is never sparing in his praise for other rock legends, Bonham is held in the highest esteem. In interviews over the years, Grohl often regards him as the greatest rock drummer of all time, stating that “no one gets close to him.”
So it would have undoubtedly been a daunting task when the opportunity arose to fill Bonham’s seat and play some of the fills that made his work so timelessly iconic. In 2008, Foo Fighters played two sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium. Knowing the stadium was only a few miles away from Jimmy Page’s house, he brazenly made an offer that Grohl’s younger self would quiver at the thought of.
“I had Jimmy Page’s number and I called him and hesitantly told him about our show in London, where he generally lives.” Grohl said in a 2021 interview. “Jimmy just asked, what I exactly planned. I was really hesitant to come up with my idea, after a little pause I said: ‘How about Rock’n’Roll’? And he said very coolly, Ok, what else? I thought I was in a movie.
How about ‘Ramble On’? I said And he just said, I’ll see you at the sound check. I could hardly believe it. When I sat behind my drum kit at the gig, with a magnificent view of the stadium area and two of the greatest living legends of rock on stage right in front of me – I really thought I was in a dream, in a Led Zeppelin film.”
Page joined Grohl on stage along with John Paul Jones for a rousing rendition of both tracks. In video footage of the performance, it’s plain to see in Grohl’s face the sheer excitement of playing that drum part inspired and to his credit, he delivered a shift Bonham himself would have been proud of. Watch the performance below.
