By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

Supporting Cal Jam 18 where they will be performing in October, the Foo Fighters, who also perform under the name The Holy S**ts, were found on stage at the parking lot of The Palladium in Hollywood on Sunday afternoon.

Opening for the Foos was drummer Taylor Hawkins’ band Chevy Metal, which performs covers of classic rock numbers. Though they kept the crowd happy, a definite highlight was when Hawkins stepped back from the drums, grabbed the mic and introduced Queen drummer, Roger Taylor. With Taylor on drums, and assisted by his Chevy Metal band members as well as a couple of Foo Fighters musicians, Hawkins belted out an admirable rendition of “Under Pressure.”

When done, Hawkins took his seat back at the drums then introduced Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

Grohl commented that it had been a while since the band had played a parking lot gig then kicked into a cover of Rod Stewart’s “Stay With Me” before launching into “White Limo” from their Wasting Light album.

The set ended with “New Way Home” from their The Colour and the Shape album but wait – chants of “One more song” from the audience brought the Foos out for an encore with “Everlong.”

The Palladium performance was a sweet time for lovers of the Foo Fighters. Not only was the venue large, it wasn’t crowded. Why the free event wasn’t packed is a good question, but the fans were delighted that it wasn’t.

Also on-site was memorabilia of the Foo Fighters, including their white limo that was featured in their “White Limo” video and the throne Grohl used on stage when touring after he broke his leg. Kudos to The Palladium for opening its stadium doors, allowing fans to keep cool in air conditioned comfort prior to the show.

Though it was a small show – Grohl kidded that “We’re available for bar mitzvahs, keg parties and weddings” – the band obviously had fun playing. Guitarist Pat Smear was all smiles behind a pair of sunglasses and Hawkins hammered the drums as if the crowd numbered in the thousands rather than the hundreds.

To see video of The Palladium performance, click on the QR code or visit www.cvweekly.com/LEISURE.

  robin goldsworthy