Trent Reznor calls Taylor Hawkins tribute concert “touching”
This past weekend saw the first of two planned tribute concerts in honour of the late Taylor Hawkins, the longtime Foo Fighters drummer who passed away at the age of 50 in March. The London concert gathered together friends and peers of Hawkins, including members of Rush, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and even The Beatles. From Liam Gallagher to Chrissie Hynde to his own son Shane, the event was as celebratory as it was emotional.
The apex of that emotion came when it was finally time for the Foos to play. Opening with a slowed-down version of ‘Times Like These’, Dave Grohl became choked up during the second verse as he sang “Do I stay or run away / And leave it all behind”. As tears fell from Grohl’s eyes, the crowd rallied around him with cheers of encouragement, leading Grohl to pick himself up and finish the song.
The emotion wasn’t just restricted to people who were at the Wembley show. Before a performance of ‘Even Deeper’ the same night as the tribute concert, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor spoke to the crowd about watching the shows and shed some light on his own relationship with Hawkins.
“By chance, did any of you happen to catch the tribute to Taylor Hawkins today?” Reznor queried the audience at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. “I thought, ‘I’ll tune in.’ I knew Taylor. He was a really sweet guy. I knew a lot of friends were playing it. I started watching it, and three hours later, I’m still watching. And I’ve got tears in my fucking eyes.”
“It got me thinking. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth checking out, ’cause it’s really well done,” Reznor added. “It’s very touching and sincere. And it got me thinking about, in my life these days, I try to be mindful of what’s happening right now and appreciating what’s happening right now instead of worrying about tomorrow. I sound like an old person saying that shit, don’t I? But I am grateful.”
Nine Inch Nails shared Reznor’s thoughts on their official TikTok page, which has only been in existence for less than a week. Although Reznor and Hawkins didn’t collaborate on a record, Reznor has recorded with Grohl on a number of occasions: Grohl played drums on songs from the Nine Inch Nails album With Teeth, and Reznor returned the favour by recording the song ‘Mantra’ with Grohl and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme for the soundtrack to Grohl’s documentary Sound City.
Check out Reznor’s comments down below.
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