Following an introduction by Jack Black, the pair were joined by Dave Grohl on drums and producer Greg Kurstin on keyboards for the 1976 classic, “2112 Part I: Overture"; Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith then took his place behind the drum kit for the 1974 fan favorite, “Working Man.”
Lee took a moment to share a personal story about Hawkins with the crowd at the KIA Forum, saying: “I'd just like to cast back to a moment in time, 2008, when we were contacted by the Foo Fighters to see if we would go down to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and play Taylor Hawkins favorite song with him onstage. That was the beginning of quite a beautiful friendship. So in honor of that and in honor of our own lost brother (Neil Peart), we'd like to bring out Danny Carey to play 'YYZ'."
Wearing a Toronto Raptors jersey, the Tool drummer then launched into the introduction the instrumental from Rush’s 1981 album, “Moving Pictures.”
The Los Angeles event followed a similar tribute concert format hosted by the Foo Fighters with a lengthy list of special guests at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3, where Lee and Lifeson delivered the same three songs, with Grohl on board there for the first two and Omar Hakim stepping in for “YYZ.”
Hawkins passed away in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia on March 25 at the age of 50 while the Foo Fighters were playing a series of shows in South America; no cause of death has been revealed to date.
Rush performed their final concert in Los Angeles in 2015; Peart passed away in 2020 at the age of 67 after a three-and-a-half year battle with Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
See also:
Rush members rehearse for Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts
Rush: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson reunite for South Park concert performance
Rush and Queen members to perform at Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London
Rush top multiple US charts with Moving Pictures 40th anniversary reissue
Search Rush at hennemusic
