At a show in 2016, Dave Grohl entertained the crowd with an acoustic set and a few stories. While performing at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Grohl began a rendition of “Best of You.” Seemingly remembering a funny anecdote about the song, he settled in for storytime.
Videos by American Songwriter
It started at a party, he said, but didn’t specify the date. “Paul was there,” he continued, referencing Paul McCartney. “We were hanging out, having fun, and there was a piano in the room. Paul gets up and starts playing a song.”
“[It’s] amazing,” he said, then paused for an aside. “By the way, Paul McCartney is the baddest motherf—er in the world, I don’t know if you know that,” he said to laughs from the audience. “You kind of forget that not only is he the coolest, but he’s also the best.”
“So he gets up on the piano, he starts playing the song,” Grohl continued. “And it’s blowing everyone’s f—ing minds—new song, wow, new Paul song, weird. And then he finishes the song and everyone looks at me like, ‘Go on Dave, play a song.’”
Dave Grohl Tells the Story of Being Too Stoned To Play Piano for Paul McCartney
The audience was listening with rapt attention, chuckling at Dave Grohl’s story as he strummed his guitar. After revealing that everyone at the party wanted him to play a song, he replied, “Well, I don’t know how to play piano. Like, I don’t know what to do, I can’t play f—ing piano.”
“I look around and Paul McCartney’s left-handed,” he continued. “So all the guitars are left handed, and I’m like ‘s–t, I’m screwed, what do I do.’” He then shrugged and told the crowd, “and also I maybe smoked a little pot,” earning a hearty laugh.
“So I’m like ‘oh my God, what do I do right now, what’s going on,’” he said. “And all of a sudden Taylor Swift stands up. She’s like ‘I’ll play a song,’” Grohl said in a high-pitched imitation of the pop star.
He went on to explain that Swift started playing the piano, so he figured he’d “jam with her.” So Grohl took one of McCartney’s left-handed bass guitars and tried to figure out what to do with it.
“It was like one of those nightmares where you’re running backwards and you’re always late for whatever you gotta go to,” he said. “And [Swift] was playing this really beautiful thing on piano, and I look at my wife and I’m like, ‘I know this f—ing song, what the hell is this?’”
“And she was f—ing playing our song ‘Best Of You’,” said Grohl to solid laughter. “As if I weren’t high enough, that f—ing blew me into outer space … I felt ‘obligated’ to sit next to her and duet. And she’s got a good voice, she can sing. So I sat next to her and I did this—”
After a successful storytime with Dave Grohl, he transitioned easily into the beginning of “Best Of You”, turning seamlessly from goofy tale-teller into certified rockstar.
Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.