Rock music at political party conventions has become increasingly commonplace in the last decade or so, and the recent Democratic National Convention was no exception. Taking to the stage at the event in North Carolina, Foo Fighters performed a special two-song acoustic set, which included a version of 1998 single "My Hero" which was dedicated to Barack Obama. Before playing the track, Dave Grohl said the following: "It's an honour to be here tonight. I think this song makes perfect sense, here." The band’s set also included 2011 track "Walk".
According to
NME, other performances at the DNC came from
Mary J. Blige,
James Taylor,
Marc Anthony and
Jessica Sanchez. Foo Fighters also played an epic 35-song set the night before the DNC (September 5th) at the
Rock The Vote Show, also in North Carolina. The band, who headlined the
Reading festival on August 26th had dispelled their own claims about going on hiatus. Grohl had told the Reading crowd: "
It's the last show of the tour and it's the last show for a long time." The group also has lined up US festival appearances in Atlanta, Georgia on September 21 and Pensacola Beach, Florida on September 22.
Foo Fighters’ set at the DNC fared somewhat better than 3 Doors Down’s show at the Republican National Convention. The band had played their set to a less than enthusiastic audience, with many of the members of the audience filing out of the auditorium as they performed. CNN’s Lisa Desjardins commented: "I SEE NOT ONE Republican rocking, swaying or even halting to listen to the sounds of Three Doors Down. And I can see the whole place" while the Washington Post gave "Full credit to Chris Christie. Forcing 3 Doors Down on an unsuspecting audience is definitely telling people what they don't want to hear."
