Paul Brannigan - This is a Call

In December 2010 Dave Grohl indulged in a little grunge nostalgia of his own. On the day he was due to wrap the mixing of Wasting Light with Alan Moulder, Grohl booked Foo Fighters a surprise show at the tiny Paladino’s club in Tarzana, California to première songs from the album. He decided to invite Krist Novoselic along to play ‘Marigold’, the Pocketwatch track which became the B-side of Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box single, for a performance which would reunite the surviving members of Nirvana onstage for the first time since Foo Fighters’ Bumbershoot festival appearance in 1997.

The day before the show Grohl, Novoselic and Pat Smear got together in a Hollywood rehearsal room to run through the song. Once satisfied, Novoselic asked his two friends if they wanted to run through some ‘mouldy oldies’ for old time’s sake: he suggested they might tackle ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. And so, some sixteen years after he last played the song, Dave Grohl beat out the song’s iconic opening tattoo once more.

Halfway through the performance, the studio manager opened the rehearsal room door and watched in silence for a few moments.

‘That sounded pretty good,’ he said finally. ‘You guys should keep that.’

Grohl, Novoselic and Smear exchanged amused looks and burst out laughing. As the door of the room slammed shut again, Grohl picked up his drumsticks once more. As memories of days gone by rushed to his head, he composed himself and smiled. Then he looked at his friends, nodded and loudly counted in another song…