With their excellent new album Wasting Light out this week, the Foo Fighters dropped by Saturday Night Live to deliver blazing renditions of new songs “Rope” and “Walk.” The musical performances were some of the heaviest of SNL’s season, with guitarists Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear (back in the fold after quitting the group in 1997) cranking out tinnitus-inducing riffs, particularly towards the climax of “Rope.”
Grohl, who has proved his comic chops in classic Foo Fighters videos like “Learning to Fly” and “Big Me,” also made guest appearances in a pair of hilarious skits. Grohl played himself in an SNL Digital Short dedicated to the healing powers of Helen Mirren’s cleavage. And in “Bongo’s Clown Room,” he sported tinted aviators and a ponytail to play a sleazy DJ at a rundown strip club, where Mirren’s Tanya character has been dancing since the place opened in 1970.
WATCH: Foo Fighters, “Rope”
WATCH: Foo Fighters, “Walk”
WATCH: Dave Grohl in SNL Digital Short
WATCH: Dave Grohl in SNL skit “Bongo’s Clown Room”
