Dave Grohl recalls "crazy energy" of Foo Fighters' post-election 'SNL' set

Performing more than once on Saturday Live is a major accomplishment for any host or musical guest.

Dave Grohl knows the SNL studio more than most, having played there over a dozen times over the past three decades, more than any musical guest in the show's history.

Grohl first graced the SNL stage in the early-'90s with Nirvana, but he returned several more times with Foo Fighters, as well as with Them Crooked Vultures, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

He tells Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke, however, that while his latest guest spot was the most hurried of any previous one, it was somehow also the only time he's felt at ease on the SNL stage.

"You know it's funny. Usually when you go to do Saturday Night Live it takes months of negotiation and preparation between Saturday Night Live and the record company and your management and production and travel and blah, blah, blah..." Grohl explained. "...And this time, instead of those months of preparation, they called on Tuesday and they were like, 'Hey, do you want to play Saturday Night Live?' and we're like, 'Of course! When?' And they're like, 'Saturday.' We basically had to pack everything up and had to jet out there as fast as we could."

Beyond having had so many memorable moments on stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Grohl says SNL has always been his favorite television show, from its comedy to the music it exposed him to when he was a kid, with artists like Devo, The B-52s and Peter Tosh that left a lasting impression upon him.

But the Foo Fighters' November 8 appearance was significant for other reasons. The show was hosted by comedy legend Dave Chappelle, and the cast and crew took the stage that night just hours after the 2020 Presidential Election was called by multiple media outlets in favor of Joe Biden.

"I thought, 'Oh my god, we're going to be on with Chappelle.' And then waking up that morning, hearing that they were beginning to call the election, it just turned into this perfect storm of crazy energy that I've never felt there before," Grohl continued. "It was actually the first time I've ever felt completely relaxed playing it. I've played it a bunch of times and that was the first time I walked on stage like, 'Okay, this feels good.'"

Foo Fighters also debuted the first single, "Shame Shame," from their forthcoming 10th studio album, Medicine At Midnight, that evening.

Listen to the full conversation via the player above!

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission