Them Crooked Vultures reunite for first time in 12 years at Taylor Hawkins tribute concert
Them Crooked Vultures reunited for their first live performance in 12 years at today’s (September 3) Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium.
The supergroup are one of many acts taking part in the special gig tonight, which honours the late Foo Fighters drummer.
Following a video message from Elton John, Them Crooked Vultures – Dave Grohl, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Alain Johannes – took to the stage. They opened their three-song set with a cover of the British musician’s 1973 track ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’.
After the cover, Homme’s son ran on stage to give his dad a hug. “God, whose kid was that?” Homme quipped, quickly adding: “That was my kid, don’t fuck around. That was my kid.”
After performing ‘Gunman’ from their own self-titled 2009 album, Homme told the crowd: “Everybody, look to the left. Look to the right. The world’s gonna end soon, there’s no time left except for love, and I fucking love you. And I love Taylor. On behalf of everyone here, I hope you have the best time – the time of your life.”
Them Crooked Vultures closed out their set with a performance of Queens Of The Stone Age’s ‘Long Slow Goodbye’. Watch footage of their set above from around the -1.20.49 mark now.
The Taylor Hawkins tribute concert is available to livestream on MTV’s YouTube channel globally and Paramount+ in the US. A second tribute show will take place at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27.
Grohl and Hawkins’ Foo Fighter bandmates opened the concert today with an emotional speech that paid tribute to their late drummer. “For those of you who knew him personally, you know that no one else could make you smile, or laugh, or dance, or sing like he could,” the frontman said.
Comedian Dave Chappelle also recalled spending time with the rock star and his son in New York. “I’ve seen Taylor be a rock star many nights but it was my first time seeing him be a dad, and what a cool fucking dad,” he said. “Taylor Hawkins is a legend of a man, he’s a legend of a musician and he’s a legend of a father.”
Liam Gallagher kicked off the live music today, performing two Oasis songs with the help of the surviving members of Foo Fighters, while Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith shared a heartwarming story about Hawkins in a special video message. Grohl’s 16-year-old daughter Violet also took to the stage to cover two Jeff Buckley songs at the show.
Hawkins, who drummed with Foo Fighters from 1997 alongside performing in bands like Chevy Metal and Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders, died in March 2022. He was 50 years old.