AC/DC closed their Power Up Tour with a surprise guest: Dave Grohl joined the band on stage for “Highway to Hell” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday (Oct. 2). The Foo Fighters frontman stepped in as the opening act for the final show of the tour, which was rescheduled after a storm forced the original Sept. 25 date to cancel.
“Hey everybody, we got something to tell you. You better listen up close now. A very good friend of ours asked us today if he could come up and join us on the stage for ‘Highway for Hell.’ And we said, ‘Yes Dave, you can.’ David Grohl!” AC/DC’s Brian Johnson told the crowd as he hugged the Foo Fighters frontman.
Grohl’s Opening Set
Before joining AC/DC, Grohl played with his own band. During their set, he spoke directly to the crowd about why AC/DC had shaped his early days as a musician.
“When I was 11 years old and I went to a midnight movie, and I saw the Let There Be Rock movie in the f—king movie theater, at 11 years old, I didn’t know that rock n’ roll could be like that,” Grohl said. “I didn’t know that rock n’ roll was sweat and blood and f—king tears and every ounce of energy you had.”
He continued, “I saw that movie, I was 11 years old, I said, ‘I want to do that for the rest of my f—king life.’ So here we are… I’m going to live my childhood dream again, tonight.”
The Storm Delay
The show was not supposed to happen at all. A nor’easter storm forced AC/DC to cancel the Sept. 25 date. Days later, the concert was moved to Oct. 2, with Foo Fighters announced as the surprise opening act.
A Second Opening
Friday’s performance was not the first time Foo Fighters had opened for AC/DC this year. On Sept. 8 in St. Louis, Grohl and his band stepped in for the tour’s scheduled opener, The Pretty Reckless, due to scheduling conflicts involving singer Taylor Momsen.
The Final Date
Friday’s MetLife show marked the end of AC/DC’s Power Up Tour, which supported the band’s 2020 album of the same name. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
At the end of their show, Johnson told the audience, “Good night, hope we’ll see you again.” The band has not announced additional dates beyond the Power Up Tour.
The Order of Events
- The Sept. 25 show was canceled due to a storm.
- The concert was rescheduled to Oct. 2.
- Foo Fighters were announced as the opening act.
- Grohl played with his band during the opening set.
- Grohl joined AC/DC on stage for “Highway to Hell.”
- The Power Up Tour ended.
The sequence shows a band willing to adapt. When nature forced a change, AC/DC found a partner in Grohl, whose own band had already stepped in once earlier in the tour.
For fans, the result was a rare sight: the frontman of a global rock institution joining the stage to honor the group that made him want to play guitar in the first place.
The tour is over, but the story of Grohl’s fandom lives on. He told the crowd exactly what the moment meant to him, and then he showed them.
Source material: “AC/DC Brings Out Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl for ‘Highway to Hell’ at MetLife Show,” Billboard.
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