Foo Fighters blast through D.C. concert for health care transparency
WASHINGTON – It isn’t typical to see the Foo Fighters perform in a venue smaller than a stadium, festival ground or even arena.
But the combination of a cause and Dave Grohl’s relative hometown enticed the band to play for about 3,000 people Tuesday night at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.
The Power to the Patients nonprofit advocates for transparency in health care costs, and along with the Foo Fighters, frequent supporters Chuck D, Fat Joe and Valerie June attended the private event to help boost visibility.
“People are afraid to go to the hospital because they don’t know what the cost is going to be,” said Fat Joe (aka Joe Cartagena). “We know what we’re paying for our rent, what we’re paying for our mortgage, but you need help for your health and you come out of (the hospital) with a bigger headache. We’re trying to be a voice for the voiceless and wake everybody up.”
Fat Joe said a bipartisan bill crafted by Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is “moving in the right direction.” Several U.S. representatives attended the event, including Andre Carson, D-Ind., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., as well as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
“This is a legacy bill. This is why they send you to Washington,” he said.
Chuck D, meanwhile, says that while it’s helpful for people to see “artists of a certain age” as himself, Fat Joe and hip-hop stars Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes and Method Man – who participated in a public service video for Power to the Patients – he hopes younger artists will help educate their fans as well.
“The 18-year-olds find they’re now 35 and they might have to deal with hospitals for their parents, and then here comes the hammer, like wow, who is going to pay for this? Where do we go?” he said before the concert. “Maybe the Travis Scotts and 21 Savages and Nicki Minajs can say something.”
Onstage, the Foo Fighters blasted through a characteristically kinetic set that kicked off with the firepower of “All My Life.” Grohl, who grew up in nearby Springfield, Virginia, played to the club audience with the same vigor as a 70,000-capacity stadium, whipping his mane while grinding out thunderous power chords on guitar.
With the robust backing of guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and drummer Josh Freese, Grohl tempered the bite of “Learn to Fly” with its mellifluous chorus and navigated the emotional seesaw that is “Rescued,” barely taking a breath between songs.
“It’s one thing for me to come home and play a show for locals. It’s another for us to come back for a real reason,” he said.
The thoughtful “Times Like These” was presented with Grohl supported only by Jaffee’s organ as he deliberately delivered the chorus (“It’s times like these you learn to live again … It’s times like these you give and give again”), while “Nothing At All,” from the band’s recent Grammy-nominated album “But Here We Are,” was augmented by the guitar melody of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
A highlight of the show came with Grohl’s dedication of “My Hero” to Chuck D, whom he called someone “who has been a hero to me musical and otherwise. … That man shows up when something is going on that needs fixing. He always does the right thing.”
In typical Foo Fighters fashion, the song was tweaked into a gentle ballad that ascended into a headbanging rush before tapering downward again.
Chuck D tweeted from his perch in the audience, “Crazy when one of the greatest rock stars of all time … Dave Grohl and 1 (of the) greatest bands of all time calls you a HERO.”
A fitting exchange of mutual admiration for the spirit of the night.