I always miss these insanely special shows!! How incredible is that setlist.
See Dave Grohl Play Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ With Warren Haynes at Surprise Club Show
“When Warren mentioned that song, my initial reaction was, ‘I can’t do that,'” says Grohl, who was in Asheville, North Carolina, for Haynes’ Christmas Jam
On Sunday afternoon, right when the folks of Asheville, North Carolina, had either finished shoveling more than a foot of snow that had fallen overnight or were simply hungover from a weekend spent at Warren Haynes’ 30th Christmas Jam, the Gov’t Mule frontman and Dave Grohl, who performed his hard-rock opus “Play” at the Jam the night prior, decided to put on another show.
“Tonight happened because of this snowstorm that hit, knowing we probably weren’t going to fly out today,” Grohl told Rolling Stone following the performance over Miller High Lifes at the nearby Buxton Hall Barbecue. “Last night at 4 a.m., we’re at the after-party for Christmas Jam. I said to someone, ‘We got to find somewhere to play.’ And everyone was talking about this place the Orange Peel.”
Around 4:00 p.m. it was announced that the duo would take the stage at the iconic rock venue in the heart of Asheville. An hour later, the 1,050-person venue was sold out at $10 per ticket, as a sea of people stood outside in hopes of a miracle. By 8:30 p.m., Grohl was behind the drum kit with his band to once again perform “Play.” Featuring members of Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures and Jane’s Addiction, it was only the second time the ensemble had done the number together onstage.
“It takes a certain kind of spirit — or a certain kind of confidence or stupidity — where you brazenly walk into [something like] this,” says Grohl. “Before this show, Warren and I were sitting backstage with no idea of what we were going to do. I didn’t know if we were going to do the ‘Play’ thing. I didn’t know if we were going to do covers. [It was], ‘Well, what do you know?’ ‘I know ‘this,’ do you know ‘that’?”
As soon as the “Play” production ended, Haynes took the stage with Gov’t Mule and Grohl, sliding into Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and then “You Don’t Know How It Feels” by Tom Petty (later on, “Breakdown” surfaced), featuring six-string ace Audley Freed.
The surprise of the evening came when Haynes, backed by Grohl and the “Play” band, dove into Nirvana’s “All Apologies,” providing a spellbinding moment of watching Grohl bang along to a tune by his former band. As the melody faded to silence, the audience sang in unison with Haynes: “All in all is all we are.”
“Warren said, ‘Do you want to do ‘All Apologies’? That used to be thin ice and delicate ground for a long time, for good reason. That’s something that had to be handled gently,” says Grohl. “When he mentioned that song, my initial reaction was, ‘I can’t do that. I shouldn’t that.’ But then I think about the people that the song means so much to and has been a part of their lives — that joy and love should be shared. And then, as we were playing it, the audience starts to sing along, and I’m crying my eyes out onstage trying to keep it together — what a beautiful moment. And who am I to keep people from that beautiful moment?”
Grohl finally emerged from behind his drums, grabbed his guitar and launched into a gritty, raucous “Helter Skelter,” with the Rolling Stones’ “Bitch” closing out the first half of the performance.
The second set flowed into Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike,” with a jam transitioning into Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” before the band tackled both the Who’s “Eminence Front” and Zeppelin’s “No Quarter.” For the encore, former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle, who lives just down the road in Black Mountain, jumped behind the kit for “Simple Man,” with Haynes, Grohl and Freed handling guitar duties.
“I love playing with other people, and I love walking onstage not knowing exactly what’s going to happen,” Grohl says. “I love jamming with people I just met five minutes ago, because — in a way — it’s a more comfortable conversation than actually speaking to someone.”
Setlist:
“Play”
“Since I’ve Been Loving You”
“You Don’t Know How It Feels”
“All Apologies”
“Breakdown”
“Helter Skelter”
“Bitch”
“Hunger Strike”
“Dear Mr. Fantasy”
“Eminence Front”
“No Quarter”
“Simple Man”
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing that. Kudos to Warren
That was cool - thanks!
No. The video is fantastic. Grohl’s approval to have Warren take Kurt Cobains’s role had to be a huge honor for Warren. I don’t think Grohl would do that with many others. I bet that list is very short. Speaks volumes about Warren’s status in the rock world. Could he be the #1 guy in rock right now as far as talent and respect?
No. The video is fantastic. Grohl’s approval to have Warren take Kurt Cobains’s role had to be a huge honor for Warren. I don’t think Grohl would do that with many others. I bet that list is very short. Speaks volumes about Warren’s status in the rock world. Could he be the #1 guy in rock right now as far as talent and respect?
Listen to what Grohl says about him here.
Awesome quote! And so true. We’ve all known it for decades and now the mainstream world knows it too. I feel very lucky to have experienced Warren so long ago and watch him get to where he is. Dickey deserves credit too for bringing him into the scene.
Awesome quote! And so true. We’ve all known it for decades and now the mainstream world knows it too. I feel very lucky to have experienced Warren so long ago and watch him get to where he is. Dickey deserves credit too for bringing him into the scene.
All the artists there were gaga over Warren. Jim James came a day early so he could soak in and participate in even more than his Saturday slot. Eric Church just beamed about playing with Warren. They all could not believe what xmas jam has been built into. I actually went thinking it might be my last one after 16 years and left thinking see ya next year. It was so clear during the Rocking in the free World sit in with Mule that Grohl was completely into Mule. Yes he had sat in with them years ago and there was the great story of Warren and Grohl's Mom but I guarantee you Grohl was blown away by what xmas jam was and by how awesome Mule is.
Awesome quote! And so true. We’ve all known it for decades and now the mainstream world knows it too. I feel very lucky to have experienced Warren so long ago and watch him get to where he is. Dickey deserves credit too for bringing him into the scene.
Oh and if you have not caught this one yet. Grohl meets Arti for the 1st time onstage and then finds himself playing Simple Man with Artimus Pyle. About a little after the 3 minute mark you see Grohl go over to Danny Louis and gesture that his mind is blown. That is hanging with the wonderful world of Warren. You end up playing with some rock legend that you had never met. As some guy said in one of the comments. If you had told his 18 year old self that one day he would see Nirvana's drummer playing with an Allman Brother guitarist on a Neil Young song he'd have thought you were nuts. lol
Not trying to be the turd in the punch bowl here, but do you think RS would have been covering this if Grohl was not there? I highly doubt they would have. I think it's pretty cool those two got together, both very passionate about music and talented to no end. Would have been cool to see.
Nothing against DG and it's not his fault, but he has become or seems like the 'token' rock guy in the music world.
Warrens reputation proceeds him and has been well respected for many years. But by having him involved with DG to bring him to "mainstream" as it was mentioned, I doubt will change his status or elevate him anymore.......he is already there in my opinion. Just not on the cover and being in the media constantly.
He will continue on being great as always.
Not trying to be the turd in the punch bowl here, but do you think RS would have been covering this if Grohl was not there? I highly doubt they would have. I think it's pretty cool those two got together, both very passionate about music and talented to no end. Would have been cool to see.
Nothing against DG and it's not his fault, but he has become or seems like the 'token' rock guy in the music world.
Warrens reputation proceeds him and has been well respected for many years. But by having him involved with DG to bring him to "mainstream" as it was mentioned, I doubt will change his status or elevate him anymore.......he is already there in my opinion. Just not on the cover and being in the media constantly.
He will continue on being great as always.
Uh RS has been covering xmas jam for years.
Not trying to be the turd in the punch bowl here, but do you think RS would have been covering this if Grohl was not there? I highly doubt they would have. I think it's pretty cool those two got together, both very passionate about music and talented to no end. Would have been cool to see.
Nothing against DG and it's not his fault, but he has become or seems like the 'token' rock guy in the music world.
Warrens reputation proceeds him and has been well respected for many years. But by having him involved with DG to bring him to "mainstream" as it was mentioned, I doubt will change his status or elevate him anymore.......he is already there in my opinion. Just not on the cover and being in the media constantly.
He will continue on being great as always.Uh RS has been covering xmas jam for years.
That was just an announcement , not a review from what I could tell. Uh, not sure I would call that coverage for yrs.
Here's a pretty cool story on Warren and Dave and Dave's Mom...
Dave Grohl’s Mom Writes About That Time She Hitched a Ride with Warren Haynes After September 11th
In the wake of the horror of September 11, 2001, the country scrambled to piece itself back together. With no air travel and a heap of uncertainty about just how we would continue, the country was at a standstill.
For touring musicians at the time, this made their task of getting across the country all the more difficult and for some–impossible. Not only does that include the musicians, but also their mothers.
In her new book From Cradle to Stage, Virginia Grohl (mother of Foo Fighter Dave Grohl) recounts a story that took place shortly after the horrific attacks that she watched from her home just minutes from Washington, DC. With her kids in California at the time, they urged their mother to get out of harm’s way and to the opposite coast, but with no air travel she was tasked with finding a ride.
“I tried to enlist a friend to accompany me, but her responsibilities would keep her in Virginia,” she writes. After bailing on the idea of leaving, Dave called her up with an idea.
“A short time later David called back. ‘Mom, can you be ready in two hours? I’ve found a tour bus.'” That tour bus pulled up holding just one passenger–former Gov’t Mule tour manager Matt Busch (who reported on this meeting for Jambands.com in 2001). “We got on the highway and headed east. We were driving to the outskirts of New York City where the final passenger, Warren Haynes, would board.”
So with Haynes, Busch and Mama Grohl in tow, the bus headed west with its first stop in Denver where Gov’t Mule was at least attempting to kick off a tour (they would) on September 14. “Four disparate souls, confused by the chaotic events of the day, driving out of harm’s way to further uncertainty,” she writes.
The bus ride seemed to prove therapeutic, as Grohl recounts the four strangers swapping stories and consoling each other in troubling, emotional times. When the bus pulled up to Denver, Grohl and the bus driver Barney decided to hang around for Mule’s show, where Virginia got a crash course in the world of jambands. “I later realized that some of their remarkable hospitality was chemically induced,” she jokes when discussing the overwhelming friendliness of the crowd at the show. “I was in the midst of swaying, gyrating fans, not the jumping-bean Foo Fighters fans I was used to. It felt like what I imagined a Grateful Dead reunion would be.”
While Virginia, Haynes, Busch and Barney parted ways in Denver, they would meet again a few days later as Gov’t Mule stopped in Hollywood, CA for a show at the House of Blues. Virginia attended and this time brought her rock star son, who sat in on the final song of the night with Warren and Mule–“Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Grohl closes the chapter with a fitting summation of the fateful meeting: “Unforgettable.”
