Dave Grohl doesn’t let a simple thing like a badly broken leg get in the way of rock ‘n roll. Just weeks after a fibula-snapping fall offstage in Sweden forced him to cancel a handful of European shows, Grohl was back onstage for a DC show on July 4th — complete with an elaborate, rock-themed throne he designed in a drug haze to rest upon. When the Foo Fighters celebrated the 20th anniversary of their self-titled record on Saturday night, Grohl performed from atop the throne with his broken leg in a purple cast on full display.
Grohl envisioned his newly-crafted throne while recovering in the hospital, doped to the gills on morphine and oxycontin, according to the rocker. Foo Fighter roadies assembled his drug-soaked vision, which features guitar necks sprouting from the back of the chair, a speaker cabinet as its seat, and stage lights shooting from the Foo Fighters’ logo perched on top.
“I was high as a f$&king kite when I drew that picture,” Grohl told the crowd during the show. “I said, I’m not missing this show for the world. I was high as a f$&kin’ kite when I drew that picture … I said, you build me that throne and we’ll play Washington DC. So tonight, I’m going to dedicate this one to the Foo Fighters crew. They’re the best road crew in the whole world because nothing’s impossible.”
The Foo Fighters’ frontman, who initially sustained the injury three weeks ago, also recounted the story of his ill-fated fall to the supportive DC crowd. After showing a YouTube clip of the fall on a big screen, he summed it up in simple terms. “What can I say? I ate shit,” explained Grohl. “I hit the ground so hard. I dislocated my ankle and I broke my leg. But I met a nice doctor… He said, I gotta put it back in place right now. I said, OK and he put it back in place, put a brace on… I said how about this? You go get the piece and I play. He said, I gotta hold your ankle in the brace. And I said, your ass is coming onstage with me right now.”
He was able to finish the show with a medic holding his leg in place, but the band was forced to cancel five European shows in June as the rocker recovered. But Grohl made sure — regardless of the pins in his leg — that he’d be able to perform at the band’s 20th anniversary all-day mini-festival in their hometown, which also featured DC Go-Go heroes Trouble Funk, New Orleans jazz player Trombone Shorty, rapper LL Cool J, as well as classic rockers Heart and Joan Jett.
Upcoming for Grohl and his throne are gigs in Toronto and Quebec City this week.
