Video: DAVE GROHL Kicks Off FOO FIGHTERS Tour On Giant Throne

Dave Grohl settled the question of how he would perform on the FOO FIGHTERS‘ North American tour on Saturday night (July 4) at the kick-off show in Washington D.C., playing the entire epic set from a massive, light-up throne surrounded by guitars. Grohl even showed off footage of himself after his surgery for the broken leg that he sustained in a fall from a stage in Sweden last month.

The FOO FIGHTERS‘ 21-song show, which also marked the 20th anniversary of the release of the band’s debut album, followed sets from Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., HEART, Joan Jett, LL Cool J and Trombone Shorty. In honor of the anniversary, the FOO FIGHTERS played a number of songs from the first album and even welcomed Grohl‘s mother to the stage.

Speculation over whether the FOO FIGHTERS would postpone the start of the North American tour continued for weeks after Grohl‘s fall. His injury required six screws in his leg and forced the band to cancel the last seven dates of its European run, including two stadium headlining gigs.

But Grohl told the Washington crowd, “I’m not missing this show for the world,” explaining that he was “high as a kite” on painkillers when he came up with drew the design for his onstage seat, which he envisioned having “guitar arms” and “lasers and shit shooting from the top.”

The FOO FIGHTERS opened their hits-packed set with “Everlong”, blazing through crowdpleasers like “Big Me”, “Walk”, “Learn To Fly”, “The Pretender”, acoustic versions of “My Hero” and “Times Like These” and a cover of the QUEEN / David Bowie classic “Under Pressure”.