On Saturday, the day after he dedicated "My Hero" to the late Steve Albini, who produced Nirvana's In Utero album, Dave Grohl dedicated the same song to another late hero of his, Eddie Van Halen...and to his son, Wolfgang.
It happened during Foo Fighters set at Welcome to Rockville, the annual gathering of heavy rockers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and there's a backstory to it.
It starts when Grohl complained to the crowd that he never gets a chance to solo, and that he was about to show off his lead guitar prowess. With his back to the audience, he started playing Eddie's legendary "Eruption" solo. But it was all a ruse, as Wolfgang Van Halen was soon revealed to be playing it at the side of the stage. After "Eruption" was done he also went into the opening of "Hot for Teacher" before handing the reins back to Grohl.
It was after that bit of comic relief that Grohl made his dedication to the Van Halens -- father and son. It wasn't his last dedication. He'd shout out the late Taylor Hawkins before going into "Aurora," as he does at most shows, but he also ended their set by dedicating "Everlong" to "the fans and the sweet ass bands at Welcome to Rockville 2024."
Check out the fan-shot video of the Van Halen segment on YouTube, (Blabbermouth, Setlist.fm)