The Foo Fighters brought the heat to the 2023 Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio, over the weekend (May 28) and delivered an exhilarating rendition of Nine Inch Nails‘ “March of the Pigs.”
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The performance marked Josh Freese’s third live gig with the legendary band. The Foo Fighters recently announced that the high-demand drummer would join them full-time for their summer tour. Freese replaces the late Taylor Hawkins.
The award-winning band performed “March of the Pigs” within a medley that paid tribute to Freese’s prolific career as a drummer. The mashup also included Devo’s “Whip It” and “Blurry” by Puddle of Mudd.
Before appearing on Puddle of Mudd’s album, Come Clean, released in the early 2000s, he was the drummer for Devo. Freese became an active member of Nine Inch Nails in 2005. The drummer embarked on their North American Lights In The Sky Tour before leaving the group in 2008.
The fan-captured video opens with Freese kick-starting the epic medley with a stirring guitar solo. As he pounded on the drums, ticket-holders gave the band a nod of approval with positive hoots and hollers.
Grohl exploded into the first verse, delivering the hard-rock melody. “March of the Pigs” lives on NIN’s second studio album, The Downward Spiral, and became one of the ensemble’s most-well received tracks. The 1994 collection also features “Mr. Self Destruct,” “Closer,” “The Becoming,” and fan-favorite “A Warm Place.”
The esteemed instrumentalist was previously a part of Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, Paramore, Devo, A Perfect Circle, and more. Freese, 50, joins Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, and Rami Jaffe. The announcement did not come as a surprise, as Freese was one of many who performed with the Foo Fighters during their Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in 2022.
The Foo Fighters revealed Freese as their drummer with a hilarious video. During their Preparing Music For Concerts livestream via Veeps, they premiered the clip featuring a long list of iconic drummers competing for the spot. Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, and Tool’s Danny Carey made an appearance. Toward the end of the debut, Freese was named the new drummer.
The band embarked on their North American leg of the Comeback Tour in late May, recently expanding their 2023 tour with six more headlining shows. They will now play three additional gigs in August—Spokane, Washington (Aug. 4), Salt Lake City, Utah (Aug. 8), and Stateline, Nevada (Aug. 10). In September, they will perform at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and multiple shows in October.
The trek will also include stops in Germany, Brazil, and Japan. For tickets and upcoming dates, visit HERE.
Photo: Kevin Mazur /Gettyimages.com
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