Rush Recruits Tool’s Danny Carey for Taylor Hawkins L.A. Tribute
Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson reunited Tuesday night for their second live performance in less than a month, playing the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in Los Angeles.
In keeping with their other recent mini show, a three-song set at the first all-star Hawkins tribute in London, Lee and Lifeson saluted both the late Foo Fighters drummer and their former bandmate Neil Peart, who died in January 2020. To round out this live incarnation, the band's surviving members recruited keyboardist Greg Kurstin and a rotating trio of drummers: Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl ("2112: Overture"), Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith ("Working Man") and, completing a prog-rock fantasy lineup, Tool's Danny Carey ("YYZ").
Jack Black introduced Rush, calling the event itself an "incredible tribute to a beautiful man." He also described seeing Hawkins live multiple times, saying, "One of the best times I ever saw him was right here. Did anyone come to Dave’s [birthday concert]? One for the ages. And Taylor just fucking tore it apart."
During the London event, Grohl played on both "2112: Overture" and "Working Man," with former David Bowie drummer Omar Hakim replacing him behind the kit for "YYZ."
Watch Rush Play With Dave Grohl, Chad Smith and Danny Carey at the L.A. Taylor Hawkins Tribute
Hawkins was a noted Rush fan, with he and Grohl having inducted the Canadian trio into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. The former was effusive during the ceremony, praising Lee’s "ripping bass and his incredible, unmistakable voice," Lifeson's "soulful, imaginative, melodic, chaotic guitar solos" and the overall brilliance of Peart, who "spawned a generation of air drummers for decades to come."
Following Hawkins’ death, Lee described Hawkins as a "sweetheart of a man that radiated good vibes, a love of music and a total monster on the drums." He also recalled the 2008 Foo Fighters show where he and Lifeson played "YYZ" with the drummer: "His excitement was almost impossible for him to contain," Lee wrote. "And of course, he nailed it!"