Category: News

Kevin Winter, Getty Images Dave Grohl had perhaps the biggest and most impressive celebration for his ‘ Sound City ‘ film to date, with one rocker after another lining up to take the stage as part of his Sound City Players performance at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles Thursday night (Jan. 31). The gig followed a red-carpet premiere of the Grohl-directed documentary. We were lucky enough to attend the incredible concert, during which the one constant throughout the evening was Grohl, who performed on every single song, whether it be on drums, guitar or bass. The ‘Sound City’ mastermind started the evening on bass while his Queens of the Stone Age cohort Alain Johannes led the crowd through a rocking set that included the Queens album track ‘Hangin’ Tree’ as well as the ‘Sound City’ contribution ‘A Trick With No Sleeve.’ Masters of Reality’s Chris Goss was next, but his set was bolstered with some power drumming from Rage Against the Machine ‘s Brad Wilk. The hard rocking performance featured the infectious beat of ‘She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)’ and the moody ‘Sound City’ soundtrack song ‘Time Slowing Down.’ Grohl stuck around on drums for a brief set featuring Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been. The performance included the ‘Sound City’ cut ‘Heaven and Hell’ as well as a sped-up, jammed out ‘Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll.’ While the early performances were enjoyable, the energy level seemed to pick up with the introduction of Fear frontman Lee Ving and his “one-two-three-four” openings for every song. Ving got the amped up crowd rocking to the sing-along ‘I Love Living in the City’ and ‘Beef Bologna.’ There were smiles all around as Grohl and guitarist Pat Smear in particular got to exercise their hardcore roots and Hawkins was getting in some rapid-fire drumming. Arguably the rocking highlight of the night came next with Slipknot  /  Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor leading an inspired Cheap Trick set featuring that band’s own Rick Nielsen on guitar and a guest appearance by Nirvana ‘s Krist Novoselic on bass. Taylor whipped the crowd into a frenzy with ‘Hello There,’ making sure the “ladies and gentlemen” of the audience were “ready to rock.” For the first time during the evening, there was audible singing from the crowd on such favorites as ‘Ain’t That a Shame’ and ‘Surrender.’ During the latter track, one lucky audience member went home with a some vinyl as Nielsen tossed an old record into the crowd to coincide with one of the lyrics. Taylor also received a warm response for the recently debuted ‘ From Can to Can’t ‘ from the ‘Sound City’ soundtrack. The most levity of the evening came with Rick Springfield’s set, with the rocker visibly having a good time playing off drummer Taylor Hawkins , tossing his guitar in the air, and at one point getting a wry smile after missing a mark in ‘Love Is Alright Tonight.’ Dave Grohl joked around with Springfield throughout the set, offering the most stage banter of the evening. At one point he congratulated Springfield after the first three notes of ‘Jessie’s Girl’ rang out to loud cheers. Grohl laughingly joked that Springfield had truly made it by penning a song that everyone knew after hearing one second. Springfield also brought some good time rocking to the night with ‘I’ve Done Everything for You’ and ‘Love Somebody’ during his performance. For guitar lovers, former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman  John Fogerty ‘s performance was a pure treat. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer expressed his joy at taking part and said that all of the people in the film had one thing in common — their love for Grohl. Fogerty’s performance consisted of such well known favorites as ‘Travelin’ Band,’ ‘Born on the Bayou,’ ‘Centerfield,’ ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and the full lineup appeared to be most in sync of any performance during the evening. But perhaps the biggest surprise in the set was the wicked guitar work laid down by Fogerty during the CCR track ‘Keep on Chooglin’,’ with much of the band laying back in awe before both Grohl and Chris Shiflett got in a full-on synchronized jam with Fogerty. Fully enjoying the moment, the rock vet threw his arm around Shiflett’s head and later hugged Grohl. Fogerty’s set ended with a duet with Grohl on the classic ‘Fortunate Son.’ Already clocking in at three-plus hours, the ‘Sound City Players’ concert rounded out with a huge response for Stevie Nicks . She returned the audience affection with a solid yet brief set that opened with ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ and ‘Dreams,’ before taking things down with an intimate version of ‘Landslide’ with only Grohl on guitar and some brief accompaniment from Rami Jaffe on accordion and Jessy Greene on violin. Nicks and the entire Foo Fighters lineup finished out the night with a full-on jam of the Fleetwood Mac classic ‘Gold Dust Woman.’ In addition to all the great performances, the night also featured highlights from the ‘Sound City’ documentary which brought all the musicians together in the first place. The film is currently available for purchase as a download here and can be seen in select theaters across the U.S. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dave-grohl-hopes-to-perform-sound-city-shows-around-the-world/” title=”Next: Dave Grohl Hopes to Bring ‘Sound City Players’ Around the World” align=”center”] Dave Grohl and Stevie Nicks at Sound City Players Concert in L.A. Kevin Winter, Getty Images Dave Grohl and John Fogerty at Sound City Players Concert in L.A. Kevin Winter, Getty Images