Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have been releasing their holiday collaboration “The Hanukkah Sessions” for the third year in a row. For 2022, the Foo Fighters frontman and popular producer took “The Hanukkah Sessions” to an intimate club earlier this month for a secret show. With the first night of Hanukkah taking place last night (December 18), the video from the show has finally been released.
Embedded below are Grohl and Kurstin joined by Judd Apatow who provided vocals on a Blood, Sweat & Tears cover of “Spinning Wheel.” Before performing the cover, Apatow addressed the audience saying, “This is a song that means a lot to me. It was performed by the great Hank Kingsley on ‘The Larry Sanders Show.’ This is a tribute to Garry [Shandling] and Hank.”
As previously reported, the 2022 installment of “The Hanukkah Sessions” was the first time they were performed in front of a live audience. The show took place at Largo in Los Angeles, which has a capacity of about 250 people. Due to the pandemic, the previous two years were all virtual performances shared via YouTube. In those two previous years, Grohl and Kurstin have taken on some notable tracks from a diverse slate of Jewish artists. Among them were the Beastie Boys, Lisa Loeb, Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, Barry Manilow, the Ramones and more.
According to Time, this is the first time since 2005 that the first night of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Christmas. The outlet notes that since 1900, the first night of Hanukkah has fallen on Christmas in 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and 2024.
As for why Hanukkah starts on a different date each year, this is due to Jewish holidays being observed on a lunisolar calendar and not a 365-day Gregorian calendar, which is used with American and Christian holidays. Reader’s Digestsays a lunisolar calendar “keeps track of the earth’s orbit around the sun to determine a year’s length but also factors in the phases of the moon to determine the beginning and end of each new month.” As a result, holiday dates don’t always match up year after year.
Of course, one thing that was introduced a few decades ago that hasn’t changed is Adam Sandler referring to Hanukkah as “Eight Crazy Nights” in the iconic “Hanukkah Song.” (Shout out to David Lee Roth, who lights the menorah.)
With this in mind, we thought we’d look back at eight crazy nights in rock history. Enjoy and Happy Hanukkah!
Nikki Sixx OD’s, Inspires “Kickstart My Heart”
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As the story goes, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx overdoses on heroin while partying with Steven Adler, Slash and Ratt’s Robbin Crosby. He passes out, turns blue, is declared dead but is brought back to life thanks to an adrenaline injection from the paramedics. Thus, a rock hit is born.
Ozzy and The Alamo
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Ozzy Osbourne was famously arrested in February 1982 when he was caught urinating on a monument near the historic Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. He would also famously be banned from performing in San Antonio for a decade. Not only would he return and rock San Antonio, but he revisited the Alamo with his son, Jack, in 2015 for their History Channel series 'Ozzy and Jack's World Detour.'
Axl Rose and the Riverport Riot
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On July 2, 1991, Guns N' Roses were playing a show at the Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Mo. when Axl Rose cut the set short after seeing a fan in the crowd with a camera. Cut to the infamous “Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” line….and cue riot!
The Led Zeppelin Mudshark Incident
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This wild (and alleged) night is still highly debated as to whether it happened or didn't happen and whether Zeppelin and/or Vanilla Fudge were involved, but we all have heard about this story by now. If you haven't, Google it, because I have a good feeling if I were to describe it, I might get fired.
Any given night with Keith Moon
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Truth be told, this list alone could have been about eight different crazy stories about Keith Moon, from blowing up hotel room toilets or his infamous 21st birthday party at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Mich. Just pick any night! As Alice Cooper once said in an interview with Fretlight Guitar, "I always tell people 30 percent of what you've heard about me is true, [but] everything you've heard about Keith Moon is true."
R.E.M’s Peter Buck Loses It On An Airplane
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It’s not uncommon for rock stars to engage in questionable behavior high up in the sky, but when news broke that R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck went on what was called a “drunken rampage” during a 2002 British Airways flight, needless to say many were taken aback. He supposedly drank about 15 glasses of wine on a trans-Atlantic flight on British Airways. He would later be acquitted on assault charges from the incident.
Police Raid Keith Richards’ Home
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Richards' home in Sussex was infamously raided by police in 1967. Various drug possession charges were levied against Richards, Mick Jagger and Jagger's then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, who was reportedly only wearing a fur rug at the time of the bust. Not sure how one could wear a rug, but that and the alleged Mars Bar were also part of the legend. (Once again, Google it. I don't want to get fired.)
Jim Morrison arrested for allegedly exposing himself.
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Probably one of the Lizard King’s most infamous moments, Morrison was arrested in March 1969 for allegedly dropping his pants during a concert in Florida, even though no photographic evidence was found. In 2010, Florida's clemency board would pardon Morrison posthumously of the charges.
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
