On Sunday, Foo Fighters closed out Bonnaroo with a 19-song set that featured hits, guest appearances, a tribute to their late drummer Taylor Hawkins, and some fun covers, including a snippet of Beastie Boys’ 1994 classic, “Sabotage.”
“Fuck, let’s do it — go, Nate, go,” frontman Dave Grohl said onstage in front of the crowd in Manchester, Tennessee, cuing bassist Nate Mendel to kick off the song’s opening riff. As the intro burst into the first verse, Grohl hopped in, doing his best Ad-Rock impersonation.
The band made it a few lines before Grohl pulled the plug, saying “I can’t fucking rap and I don’t know the song, though I love it.” He then told the crowd: “Next year, we’ll come back to Bonnaroo, we’ll play at the fucking ‘Wha-What Stage’ and we’ll do a whole Beastie Boys set, how about that?” Watch a video of the performance below.
The cover appears to have been part of a “medley” that Foo Fighters has been doing for their ongoing 2023 tour, in which they play snippets of covers while Grohl humorously struggles to remember lyrics, or just makes up his own. Along with “Sabotage,” songs like Devo’s “Whip It” and Nine Inch Nails’ “March of the Pigs” have been included, both of which are fitting considering that the band’s new drummer, Josh Freese, drummed for both Devo and NIN in the past.
Another song the band included in the medley recently is a humorous version of Michael Bublé’s “Haven’t Met You Yet,” with Grohl-penned lyrics like “I don’t know the fucking words/ I don’t know this song/ You might know it/ But I don’t/ I was supposed to practice it/ But I fucking don’t care,” and, of course, his version of the big, hit line: “I just haven’t fucked you yet.”
Another highlight from Foo Fighters’ headlining set at Bonnaroo came when they brought out Paramore’s Hayley Williams to sing “My Hero.” The moment was full-circle for Williams, who previously covered the song for the 2006 film Superman Returns.
If you want to catch some of Foo Fighters’ fun covers for yourself, you still have a chance to see them on their 2023 tour, which will include headline dates and stops at San Francisco’s Outside Lands, Chicago’s Riot Fest, and Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival. Grab your tickets here.
In 2020, Grohl shared a full version of “Sabotage” as part of his Hanukkah Sessions with producer Greg Kurstin.
Foo sabotage at Roo #bonnaroo #foofighters #beastieboys pic.twitter.com/8fp8tDGJlK
— Velvet Jones (@velvetjonesing) June 19, 2023
