Foo Fighters returned to the Late Show on Wednesday night, playing a high-energy medley of the very first and very last song they played on the iconic program’s stage in a full circle moment.
Late Show host Stephen Colbert noted the group played its first-ever TV performance in 1995 with “This Is a Call,” under former host David Letterman. They were also Letterman’s last-ever musical guest, playing Letterman’s favorite song “Everlong,” before he handed over the reins to Colbert in 2015.
Letterman had credited “Everlong” in helping him through a five-week recovery period following a quintuple bypass surgery in 2000, and the band once “dropped everything” to perform the anthem for Letterman’s comeback show.
“When we found out [Letterman] actually liked our music, that he actually was a fan, I was really blown away,” Grohl previously told Rolling Stone. “When he came back from his open-heart surgery, they requested that we play our song ‘Everlong’ because that was his favorite song … I think we even cancelled a tour. We just felt like we had to be there. Not only was it an honor to be asked, but it felt like something we had to do – because he had always meant so much to us. And that started this connection that we’ve had for years. It’s fucking cool, you know?”
The Foo Fighter’s performance on Wednesday is likely their last time on the late-night institution as Colbert is set to wrap up his decade-long run at the helm of the show later this month, following CBS’ decision to cancel the program last year. The last show is Thursday, May 21.
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The Foo Fighters are fresh off the April release of their album, Your Favorite Toy, and are having a busy week. They stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk where frontman Dave Grohl said it was an “honor” to grace the space. “I’ve watched so many of these Tiny Desk shows and have a bunch of favorites,” Grohl said. “I have to say, when I saw Trouble Funk squeeze into this tiny little office space here, I was like, ‘It’s not that tiny.’ … But it’s great to be here.”
The band is slated to play at BottleRock Napa Valley at the end of the month, before they head to Europe for their Take Cover Tour. They’ll be back States-side in August, playing in Detroit before making stops in major cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville and Los Angeles.
